Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Takes Position in Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Flowserve in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Flowserve in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Flowserve in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Flowserve by 159.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Flowserve by 64.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 711 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Flowserve from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $55.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Flowserve from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Flowserve from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Flowserve from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Flowserve from $73.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.50.

Flowserve Stock Performance

Shares of FLS opened at $59.04 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $7.76 billion, a PE ratio of 29.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.42. Flowserve Co. has a 52-week low of $41.60 and a 52-week high of $65.08.

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. Flowserve had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 17.10%. Equities research analysts predict that Flowserve Co. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowserve Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Flowserve’s payout ratio is 39.25%.

About Flowserve

Flowserve Corporation designs, manufactures, distributes, and services industrial flow management equipment in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates through Flowserve Pump Division (FPD) and Flow Control Division (FCD) segments. The FPD segment offers custom and pre-configured pumps and pump systems, mechanical seals, auxiliary systems, replacement parts, upgrades, and related aftermarket services; and equipment services, including installation and commissioning services, seal systems spare parts, repairs, advanced diagnostics, re-rate and upgrade solutions, retrofit programs, and machining and asset management solutions, as well as manufactures a gas-lubricated mechanical seal for use in high-speed compressors for gas pipelines and in the oil and gas production and process markets.