Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV) saw a large drop in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,920,000 shares, a drop of 29.7% from the August 31st total of 2,730,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 947,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DOV. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 target price on shares of Dover in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Dover to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Dover from $192.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Dover from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.63.

Dover Trading Down 0.1 %

DOV stock traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $192.75. 636,652 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 976,661. Dover has a one year low of $127.25 and a one year high of $194.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.49 billion, a PE ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.53. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $182.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.02.

Dover (NYSE:DOV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. Dover had a net margin of 17.58% and a return on equity of 24.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.05 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Dover will post 9.17 EPS for the current year.

Dover Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. This is a boost from Dover’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Dover’s payout ratio is presently 19.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Brad M. Cerepak sold 14,818 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $2,593,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 12,324 shares in the company, valued at $2,156,700. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Ivonne M. Cabrera sold 1,220 shares of Dover stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $225,700.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 47,060 shares in the company, valued at $8,706,100. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brad M. Cerepak sold 14,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $2,593,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,156,700. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,383 shares of company stock valued at $8,169,883. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Dover

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. bought a new position in Dover in the second quarter worth approximately $279,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Dover during the 2nd quarter worth $3,175,000. Chase Investment Counsel Corp raised its holdings in shares of Dover by 23.5% in the second quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 1,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Dover during the 2nd quarter worth about $17,323,000. Finally, Ecofi Investissements SA purchased a new position in Dover during the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,531,000. 84.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Dover

Dover Corporation provides equipment and components, consumable supplies, aftermarket parts, software and digital solutions, and support services worldwide. The company's Engineered Products segment provides various equipment, component, software, solution, and services that are used in vehicle aftermarket, waste handling, industrial automation, aerospace and defense, industrial winch and hoist, and fluid dispensing end-market.