Short Interest in Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS) Decreases By 6.0%

Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,720,000 shares, a decline of 6.0% from the August 31st total of 1,830,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 968,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Flowserve Price Performance

Flowserve stock opened at $51.85 on Wednesday. Flowserve has a 1 year low of $35.31 and a 1 year high of $53.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $48.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.84. The company has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.32, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.39.

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.10. Flowserve had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 5.67%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Flowserve will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowserve Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. Flowserve’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on FLS shares. StockNews.com downgraded Flowserve from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Flowserve from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Flowserve from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Flowserve in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Flowserve from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Flowserve has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.88.

Institutional Trading of Flowserve

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FLS. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Flowserve by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 280,544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,564,000 after purchasing an additional 10,872 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Flowserve during the 4th quarter worth about $178,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Flowserve by 79.1% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 185,476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,663,000 after purchasing an additional 81,936 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Flowserve by 115.0% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 192,629 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,940,000 after purchasing an additional 103,023 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of Flowserve by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 58,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,391,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.93% of the company’s stock.

About Flowserve

Flowserve Corporation designs, manufactures, distributes, and services industrial flow management equipment in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates through Flowserve Pump Division (FPD) and Flow Control Division (FCD) segments. The FPD segment offers custom and pre-configured pumps and pump systems, mechanical seals, auxiliary systems, replacement parts, upgrades, and related aftermarket services; and equipment services, including installation and commissioning services, seal systems spare parts, repairs, advanced diagnostics, re-rate and upgrade solutions, retrofit programs, and machining and asset management solutions, as well as manufactures a gas-lubricated mechanical seal for use in high-speed compressors for gas pipelines and in the oil and gas production and process markets.