Short Interest in The Brink’s Company (NYSE:BCO) Increases By 10.7%

The Brink’s Company (NYSE:BCO) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,340,000 shares, a growth of 10.7% from the August 15th total of 1,210,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 306,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.4 days. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Brink’s from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. William Blair initiated coverage on Brink’s in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brink’s

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in Brink’s by 15,919.2% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 800,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $82,018,000 after purchasing an additional 795,961 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Brink’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $21,375,000. Fourth Sail Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Brink’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $11,501,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Brink’s by 375.2% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 99,677 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,207,000 after acquiring an additional 78,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in Brink’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $7,700,000. Institutional investors own 94.96% of the company’s stock.

Brink’s Stock Performance

NYSE:BCO traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $110.82. 50,889 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 251,903. Brink’s has a fifty-two week low of $64.15 and a fifty-two week high of $113.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.78, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.42 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.97.

Brink’s (NYSE:BCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. Brink’s had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 69.80%. Brink’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Brink’s will post 7.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brink’s Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, July 29th were paid a $0.2425 dividend. This represents a $0.97 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. Brink’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.16%.

About Brink’s

The Brink's Company provides secure transportation, cash management, and other security-related services in North America, Latin America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers armored vehicle transportation of valuables; automated teller machine (ATM) management services, such as cash replenishment, cash forecasting, cash optimization, ATM remote monitoring, service call dispatching, transaction processing, installation, and first line maintenance services; and cash-in-transit services.