Short Interest in ADT Inc. (NYSE:ADT) Increases By 12.7%

ADT Inc. (NYSE:ADT) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,260,000 shares, a growth of 12.7% from the November 30th total of 14,430,000 shares. Approximately 3.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 6,410,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADT has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on ADT from $8.20 to $9.20 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on ADT from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of ADT from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in ADT during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of ADT during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ADT during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $70,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of ADT by 46.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 10,577 shares of the security and automation business’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 3,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of ADT in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $76,000. 87.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ADT Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ADT traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $6.91. 7,148,560 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,389,150. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $7.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.81. ADT has a twelve month low of $6.02 and a twelve month high of $8.25. The company has a market cap of $6.27 billion, a PE ratio of 7.51 and a beta of 1.49.

ADT (NYSE:ADT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The security and automation business reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.03. ADT had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 18.18%. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ADT will post 0.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ADT Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.055 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $0.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. ADT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.91%.

About ADT

ADT Inc provides security, interactive, and smart home solutions to residential and small business customers in the United States. It operates through two segments, Consumer and Small Business, and Solar. The company provides burglar and life safety alarms, smart security cameras, smart home automation systems, and video surveillance systems.