Pentair (NYSE:PNR) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $51.67 and last traded at $51.9610, with a volume of 521346 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.94.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PNR. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Pentair from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Pentair from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $101.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Pentair from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Pentair from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Pentair from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $87.19.

Pentair Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $59.93 and its 200 day moving average is $71.21.

Pentair (NYSE:PNR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. Pentair had a net margin of 16.24% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The company had revenue of $932.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $943.24 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Pentair plc will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pentair Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 23rd will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 23rd. Pentair’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pentair

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PNR. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Pentair by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 491,817 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $51,218,000 after purchasing an additional 104,674 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in shares of Pentair by 13.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 4,237,659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,208,000 after purchasing an additional 491,758 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of Pentair by 10.2% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 206,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,794,000 after buying an additional 19,053 shares during the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its stake in shares of Pentair by 88.7% in the first quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 75,631 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,588,000 after buying an additional 35,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Pentair by 277.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 48,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,708,000 after buying an additional 35,568 shares during the period. 92.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Pentair

Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR) is a water treatment and fluid management company that develops products and solutions for residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers. Its offerings are designed to help move, treat, filter, control, and conserve water across a range of applications.

The company’s products include pool pumps, filters, heaters, cleaners, lighting, automation systems, and related equipment, as well as water softeners, filtration systems, pumps, valves, controls, and other water-treatment technologies.