Gorman-Rupp (NYSE:GRC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gorman-Rupp (NYSE:GRC) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on GRC. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Gorman-Rupp in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Gorman-Rupp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Gorman-Rupp Stock Performance

Shares of GRC opened at $74.09 on Friday. Gorman-Rupp has a 12 month low of $42.31 and a 12 month high of $92.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $74.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.70, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 26.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.32.

Gorman-Rupp (NYSE:GRC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.16. Gorman-Rupp had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 10.20%. The firm had revenue of $193.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $181.55 million. Equities research analysts predict that Gorman-Rupp will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gorman-Rupp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This is a boost from Gorman-Rupp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. Gorman-Rupp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gorman-Rupp

In other news, VP D. Patrick Wischmeier sold 5,153 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total value of $399,975.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,409 shares in the company, valued at $109,366.58. This trade represents a 78.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 11.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gorman-Rupp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GRC. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Gorman-Rupp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $165,116,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Gorman-Rupp in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,565,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Gorman-Rupp by 326.1% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 524,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,581,000 after acquiring an additional 401,340 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Gorman-Rupp in the second quarter worth $28,291,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Gorman-Rupp in the second quarter worth $16,235,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.26% of the company’s stock.

Gorman-Rupp Company Profile

Gorman-Rupp Co designs, manufactures and sells pumps and pumping systems for moving water and other liquids. Its product portfolio includes self-priming centrifugal pumps, standard centrifugal pumps, submersible pumps, rotary gear pumps, diaphragm pumps and related pumping equipment.

The company serves a range of markets, including municipal water and wastewater treatment, construction, agriculture, industrial operations, petroleum, fire protection and emergency services. Its products are used in applications such as sewage handling, flood control, dewatering, irrigation and general fluid transfer.

Founded in 1933 by J.C.