Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) Short Interest Up 6.8% in January

Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,410,000 shares, a growth of 6.8% from the December 31st total of 1,320,000 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 589,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Donaldson from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com cut Donaldson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Donaldson from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Trudy A. Rautio sold 14,000 shares of Donaldson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.60, for a total value of $946,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 26,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,785,992. This trade represents a 34.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Donaldson

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Donaldson by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,738 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 2.0% during the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 10,242 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $755,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 52.0% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 1.2% during the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,397,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.81% of the company’s stock.

Donaldson Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE DCI traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $70.23. The stock had a trading volume of 91,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 491,968. The company has a market capitalization of $8.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $70.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.56. Donaldson has a 52 week low of $65.60 and a 52 week high of $78.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.85.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $900.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $888.88 million. Donaldson had a return on equity of 29.07% and a net margin of 11.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Donaldson will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Donaldson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Donaldson’s payout ratio is currently 31.40%.

Donaldson Company Profile

Donaldson Company, Inc manufactures and sells filtration systems and replacement parts worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Mobile Solutions, Industrial Solutions, and Life Sciences. Its Mobile Solutions segment provides replacement filters for air and liquid filtration applications, such as air filtration systems; liquid filtration systems for fuel, lube, and hydraulic applications; exhaust and emissions systems and sensors; indicators; and monitoring systems.