StockNews.com Downgrades Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) to Buy

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Donaldson from $80.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Donaldson from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Donaldson in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.67.

Donaldson Price Performance

DCI opened at $72.30 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.84. Donaldson has a 1 year low of $57.05 and a 1 year high of $78.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.71 billion, a PE ratio of 22.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.05.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $935.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $941.12 million. Donaldson had a net margin of 11.54% and a return on equity of 29.47%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Donaldson will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James Owens sold 5,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total transaction of $373,765.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,276,111.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Scott J. Robinson sold 37,600 shares of Donaldson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.97, for a total transaction of $2,668,472.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,675,710.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James Owens sold 5,210 shares of Donaldson stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total transaction of $373,765.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,276,111.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Donaldson

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DCI. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Donaldson during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Donaldson in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Donaldson by 1,372.2% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Donaldson by 408.1% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Donaldson during the first quarter worth about $46,000. 82.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Donaldson

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.