Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 4,886,905 shares, an increase of 21.0% from the March 15th total of 4,037,620 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,045,752 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Xylem Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:XYL opened at $125.20 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $125.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.77. Xylem has a fifty-two week low of $107.04 and a fifty-two week high of $154.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.42. Xylem had a return on equity of 11.11% and a net margin of 10.59%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. Xylem has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.350-5.560 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Xylem will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 24th. This is a boost from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.88%.

Xylem announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 25th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Xylem

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its holdings in shares of Xylem by 12,326.6% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 45,448,168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,189,132,000 after purchasing an additional 45,082,435 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Xylem by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,054,743 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,092,855,000 after purchasing an additional 152,507 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Xylem by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,233,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,529,768,000 after purchasing an additional 280,221 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Xylem by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,357,278 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $862,364,000 after purchasing an additional 151,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Xylem by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,507,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $750,075,000 after purchasing an additional 310,213 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $158.00 price objective on Xylem in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Xylem from $155.00 to $152.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $161.00 price objective on Xylem in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Xylem in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Xylem from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.31.

Xylem Company Profile

Xylem Inc (NYSE: XYL) is a global water technology company that designs, manufactures and services engineered systems and equipment for the transport, treatment, testing and efficient use of water. Its product portfolio spans pumps and pumping systems, valves, filtration and disinfection equipment, sensors and analytical instruments, and digital solutions for monitoring and control of water infrastructure. Xylem serves the full water cycle with offerings for water and wastewater utilities, industrial customers, commercial and residential buildings, and agricultural applications.

The company was established as an independent publicly traded company in 2011 following a corporate spin-off from ITT Corporation and is headquartered in Rye Brook, New York.