Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) Short Interest Update

Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) saw a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,404,708 shares, a growth of 20.4% from the March 15th total of 1,997,939 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 722,783 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on DCI. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Donaldson from $104.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Donaldson from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings cut Donaldson from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Donaldson to $123.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $96.00 price objective on Donaldson in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Donaldson currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.20.

Donaldson Price Performance

Shares of DCI stock traded up $2.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $89.42. The company had a trading volume of 655,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 614,085. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $93.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.33. Donaldson has a 52-week low of $61.17 and a 52-week high of $112.84. The company has a market capitalization of $10.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.05.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $896.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $898.64 million. Donaldson had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 29.85%. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Donaldson will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Donaldson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 12th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 12th. Donaldson’s payout ratio is currently 37.50%.

Insider Transactions at Donaldson

In other Donaldson news, Director James Owens sold 13,753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.21, for a total transaction of $1,226,905.13. Following the sale, the director owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,013,023.65. This trade represents a 37.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,765,184. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Donaldson

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 203.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 3,680.0% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Donaldson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Donaldson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Donaldson by 92.6% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 599 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.81% of the company’s stock.

Donaldson Company Profile

Donaldson Company, Inc (NYSE: DCI) is a global provider of filtration systems and replacement parts for a wide range of industries. The company develops and manufactures air, liquid and gas filtration solutions for engine and industrial applications, helping customers improve performance, lower emissions and extend equipment life. Donaldson’s product portfolio includes engine air intake filters, fuel filters, hydraulic filters, compressor filters, dust collection systems and gas turbine air intake systems.

Serving markets such as agriculture, construction, mining, power generation, aerospace and original equipment manufacturing, Donaldson operates through two primary business segments: Engine Products and Industrial Products.