RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,040,000 shares, a decrease of 13.9% from the August 31st total of 2,370,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 696,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Vertical Research upgraded shares of RPM International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $126.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of RPM International from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on RPM International from $122.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com upgraded RPM International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on RPM International from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.22.

RPM International Price Performance

RPM stock opened at $122.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $117.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.60. RPM International has a 52-week low of $88.84 and a 52-week high of $125.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.00.

RPM International (NYSE:RPM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56. The business had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. RPM International had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 26.80%. RPM International’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.36 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that RPM International will post 5.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RPM International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 17th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 17th. RPM International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Frank C. Sullivan sold 57,083 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.06, for a total transaction of $6,625,052.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,039,040 shares in the company, valued at $120,590,982.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other RPM International news, CEO Frank C. Sullivan sold 57,083 shares of RPM International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.06, for a total transaction of $6,625,052.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,039,040 shares in the company, valued at $120,590,982.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Matthew T. Ratajczak sold 1,452 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.79, for a total transaction of $171,031.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 24,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,866,890.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RPM. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in RPM International by 9,945.2% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,949,479 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $209,920,000 after purchasing an additional 1,930,072 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in RPM International by 4.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,475,784 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $158,912,000 after acquiring an additional 61,218 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in RPM International by 2.7% in the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 499,301 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $53,765,000 after purchasing an additional 13,010 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of RPM International by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 252,046 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,981,000 after purchasing an additional 12,791 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its position in shares of RPM International by 337.8% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 220,806 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $24,649,000 after purchasing an additional 170,369 shares during the last quarter. 80.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

RPM International Company Profile

RPM International Inc manufactures and sells specialty chemicals for the industrial, specialty, and consumer markets worldwide. It offers waterproofing, coating, and traditional roofing systems; sealants, air barriers, tapes, and foams; residential home weatherization systems; roofing and building maintenance services; sealing and bonding, subfloor preparation, flooring, and glazing solutions; resin flooring systems, polyurethane, MMA waterproof, epoxy floor paint and coatings, concrete repair, and protection products; fire stopping and intumescent steel coating, and manufacturing industry solutions; rolled asphalt roofing materials and chemical admixtures; concrete and masonry admixtures, concrete fibers, curing and sealing compounds, structural grouts and mortars, epoxy adhesives, injection resins, polyurethane foams, floor hardeners and toppings, joint fillers, industrial and architectural coatings, decorative color/stains/stamps, and restoration materials; insulated building cladding materials; and concrete form wall systems.