Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) Short Interest Up 26.6% in March

Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,487,674 shares, an increase of 26.6% from the March 15th total of 1,964,358 shares. Currently, 4.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 606,520 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Insider Transactions at Oshkosh

In other Oshkosh news, SVP Anupam Khare sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.07, for a total value of $676,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,295,463.39. The trade was a 22.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in OSK. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Oshkosh in the third quarter worth $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oshkosh by 471.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in Oshkosh by 3,014.3% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Oshkosh during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Oshkosh during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Oshkosh from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Oshkosh from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Oshkosh from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $149.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Oshkosh from $182.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Oshkosh in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.56.

Oshkosh Stock Up 2.5%

OSK traded up $3.51 during trading on Thursday, hitting $143.72. The stock had a trading volume of 296,561 shares, compared to its average volume of 775,178. The company has a market capitalization of $9.00 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.39. Oshkosh has a twelve month low of $80.29 and a twelve month high of $180.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.94. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $157.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.30.

Oshkosh (NYSE:OSK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.60 billion. Oshkosh had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 15.69%. Oshkosh’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.58 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Oshkosh will post 10.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Oshkosh Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This is an increase from Oshkosh’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Oshkosh’s dividend payout ratio is 22.75%.

Oshkosh Company Profile

Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE: OSK) is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of specialty trucks, military vehicles and access equipment. The company’s offerings span critical end markets, including defense, fire and emergency services, commercial construction and industrial sectors. By combining engineering expertise with advanced technologies, Oshkosh delivers solutions that enhance mobility, safety and productivity for its customers.

Founded in 1917 and headquartered in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the company has evolved from producing heavy-duty dump trucks to a diversified portfolio of products and services.