Polaris Inc. (NYSE:PII) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Polaris Inc. (NYSE:PII) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,080,000 shares, a decrease of 24.6% from the February 28th total of 8,060,000 shares. Approximately 11.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,650,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $54.00 target price on shares of Polaris in a report on Monday, March 17th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Polaris from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down from $81.00) on shares of Polaris in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Polaris from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded Polaris from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.83.

Institutional Trading of Polaris

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of Polaris by 191.1% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Polaris by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Polaris during the fourth quarter worth $2,992,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management raised its position in Polaris by 525.5% during the fourth quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 38,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,233,000 after acquiring an additional 32,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Polaris by 125.4% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 6,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 3,388 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Polaris Stock Up 0.9 %

Polaris stock traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $41.32. The stock had a trading volume of 1,086,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 994,281. Polaris has a 1-year low of $39.29 and a 1-year high of $100.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 1.54.

Polaris (NYSE:PII) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.03. Polaris had a net margin of 1.54% and a return on equity of 13.78%. As a group, analysts expect that Polaris will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Polaris Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.67 dividend. This is a boost from Polaris’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.49%. Polaris’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 136.73%.

Polaris Company Profile

Polaris Inc designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets powersports vehicles in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Off-Road, On-Road, and Marine. The company offers off-road vehicles (ORVs), including all-terrain vehicles and side-by-side vehicles; military and commercial ORVs; snowmobiles; motorcycles; and moto-roadsters, quadricycles, and boats.