Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,320,000 shares, a growth of 6.5% from the November 30th total of 1,240,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 602,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Donaldson Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:DCI opened at $67.35 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.85. Donaldson has a fifty-two week low of $61.79 and a fifty-two week high of $78.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $900.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $888.88 million. Donaldson had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 29.07%. Donaldson’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Donaldson will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Donaldson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Donaldson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Donaldson from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Donaldson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Donaldson from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Donaldson presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Willard D. Oberton sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.37, for a total value of $198,099.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,053,112.71. The trade was a 8.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Thomas R. Scalf sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.16, for a total value of $182,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 28,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,072,915.44. This trade represents a 8.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,495 shares of company stock valued at $695,951. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Donaldson

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in shares of Donaldson by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 11,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC increased its stake in Donaldson by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 10,242 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $755,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 52.0% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its stake in shares of Donaldson by 1.2% during the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,397,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 359.2% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.81% of the company’s stock.

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.