Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) Short Interest Up 6.8% in January

Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) was the target of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,410,000 shares, a growth of 6.8% from the December 31st total of 1,320,000 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 589,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Donaldson from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com cut Donaldson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Donaldson from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.00.

Donaldson Trading Up 0.8 %

DCI traded up $0.54 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $70.16. 64,160 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 490,943. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $70.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.06. Donaldson has a one year low of $65.60 and a one year high of $78.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.01. Donaldson had a return on equity of 29.07% and a net margin of 11.56%. The business had revenue of $900.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $888.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. Donaldson’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Donaldson will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Donaldson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Donaldson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Trudy A. Rautio sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.60, for a total transaction of $946,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 26,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,785,992. This represents a 34.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DCI. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Donaldson by 359.2% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Donaldson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Donaldson by 52.0% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Donaldson by 72.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 719 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 89.6% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 781 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.81% of the company’s stock.

Donaldson Company Profile

Donaldson Company, Inc manufactures and sells filtration systems and replacement parts worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Mobile Solutions, Industrial Solutions, and Life Sciences. Its Mobile Solutions segment provides replacement filters for air and liquid filtration applications, such as air filtration systems; liquid filtration systems for fuel, lube, and hydraulic applications; exhaust and emissions systems and sensors; indicators; and monitoring systems.