Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) Short Interest Up 5.6% in August

Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,150,000 shares, an increase of 5.6% from the August 15th total of 6,770,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,630,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Emerson Electric Price Performance

Shares of EMR stock traded up $1.70 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $105.38. 521,796 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,687,406. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $107.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.50. Emerson Electric has a fifty-two week low of $83.10 and a fifty-two week high of $119.53. The company has a market cap of $60.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.30.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Emerson Electric had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 10.12%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Emerson Electric will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Emerson Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Emerson Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its stake in shares of Emerson Electric by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Emerson Electric by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,380 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $619,000 after buying an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Emerson Electric by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,286,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Emerson Electric by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 968,561 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $94,270,000 after acquiring an additional 57,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Emerson Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $634,000. 74.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EMR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Emerson Electric from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Emerson Electric from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $137.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Emerson Electric in a research report on Monday, July 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.29.

About Emerson Electric

Emerson Electric Co, a technology and software company, provides various solutions for customers in industrial, commercial, and consumer markets in the Americas, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. It operates in six segments: Final Control, Control Systems & Software, Measurement & Analytical, AspenTech, Discrete Automation, and Safety & Productivity.