Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) Cut to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Sunday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on DCI. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Donaldson from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Donaldson from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Donaldson Stock Performance

Shares of DCI opened at $69.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.27. Donaldson has a 12-month low of $65.91 and a 12-month high of $78.95.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $900.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $888.88 million. Donaldson had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 29.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Donaldson will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

Donaldson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Donaldson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.40%.

Insider Activity at Donaldson

In other Donaldson news, Director Trudy A. Rautio sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.60, for a total value of $946,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 26,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,785,992. This trade represents a 34.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Donaldson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Colonial Trust Co SC acquired a new stake in Donaldson in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Donaldson in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Donaldson by 48.8% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Donaldson by 43.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.