Sensata Technologies Holding plc (NYSE:ST) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Sensata Technologies Holding plc (NYSE:ST) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,090,000 shares, an increase of 17.9% from the February 13th total of 3,470,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,790,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ST shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on Sensata Technologies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Sensata Technologies from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Sensata Technologies from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Sensata Technologies from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.08.

Sensata Technologies Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of ST stock traded up $0.19 on Wednesday, hitting $28.00. 456,080 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,645,918. The business has a 50-day moving average of $27.91 and a 200 day moving average of $31.15. Sensata Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $24.91 and a fifty-two week high of $43.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Sensata Technologies (NYSE:ST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.76. Sensata Technologies had a net margin of 3.27% and a return on equity of 17.54%. Equities analysts anticipate that Sensata Technologies will post 3.21 EPS for the current year.

Sensata Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Sensata Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sensata Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Sensata Technologies by 12.9% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,635 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 1,098 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Sensata Technologies by 8.9% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 293,248 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $10,516,000 after purchasing an additional 23,874 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in Sensata Technologies by 1.2% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 157,359 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $5,643,000 after purchasing an additional 1,933 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Sensata Technologies by 37.8% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 202,217 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $7,252,000 after purchasing an additional 55,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Sensata Technologies by 11.4% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 64,060 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,297,000 after purchasing an additional 6,565 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.42% of the company’s stock.

About Sensata Technologies

Sensata Technologies Holding plc develops, manufactures, and sells sensors and sensor-rich solutions, electrical protection components and systems, and other products used in mission-critical systems and applications in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Performance Sensing and Sensing Solutions.