Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) Short Interest Up 6.5% in December

Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,320,000 shares, an increase of 6.5% from the November 30th total of 1,240,000 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 602,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Donaldson Trading Up 0.1 %

DCI opened at $67.35 on Thursday. Donaldson has a fifty-two week low of $61.79 and a fifty-two week high of $78.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.04 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company’s 50-day moving average is $73.58 and its 200 day moving average is $72.90.

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

Donaldson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Donaldson’s dividend payout ratio is 31.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on DCI shares. StockNews.com raised Donaldson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Donaldson from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Donaldson from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Insider Transactions at Donaldson

In related news, Director Willard D. Oberton sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.37, for a total transaction of $198,099.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,053,112.71. This represents a 8.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Thomas R. Scalf sold 4,295 shares of Donaldson stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.33, for a total transaction of $314,952.35. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 30,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,261,057.22. This trade represents a 12.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,495 shares of company stock valued at $695,951. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Donaldson

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Donaldson by 359.2% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Donaldson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 52.0% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Donaldson by 72.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 719 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Donaldson by 221.0% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.81% of the company’s stock.

About Donaldson

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.