Short Interest in Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI) Grows By 24.4%

Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI) saw a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,630,000 shares, a growth of 24.4% from the January 31st total of 1,310,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 740,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cummins

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Global Trust Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cummins by 59.6% during the 4th quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 75 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of Cummins during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Cummins in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Cummins by 208.0% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 77 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cummins during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 83.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cummins Trading Down 2.1 %

Cummins stock traded down $7.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $337.58. 476,457 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 835,123. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.41 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.00. Cummins has a twelve month low of $260.88 and a twelve month high of $387.90. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $361.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $345.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Cummins (NYSE:CMI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Cummins had a net margin of 11.57% and a return on equity of 27.12%. The company had revenue of $8.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Cummins will post 22.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Cummins Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $1.82 dividend. This represents a $7.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Cummins’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Cummins from $395.00 to $407.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Cummins from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Cummins from $408.00 to $451.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Cummins from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Cummins from $435.00 to $430.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $386.67.

Cummins Company Profile

Cummins Inc designs, manufactures, distributes, and services diesel and natural gas engines, electric and hybrid powertrains, and related components worldwide. It operates through five segments: Engine, Distribution, Components, Power Systems, and Accelera. The company offers diesel and natural gas-powered engines under the Cummins and other customer brands for the heavy and medium-duty truck, bus, recreational vehicle, light-duty automotive, construction, mining, marine, rail, oil and gas, defense, and agricultural markets; and offers parts and services, as well as remanufactured parts and engines.