Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS) saw a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,180,000 shares, a growth of 50.3% from the November 30th total of 1,450,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowserve

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Flowserve during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Flowserve by 185.9% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 569 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Flowserve in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Flowserve in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Flowserve during the third quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FLS. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Flowserve from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Flowserve from $65.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Flowserve in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised Flowserve from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $57.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Flowserve from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Flowserve presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.40.

Flowserve Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE FLS traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $57.78. The company had a trading volume of 492,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,110,849. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.41. Flowserve has a 1-year low of $39.21 and a 1-year high of $62.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $58.47 and its 200-day moving average is $52.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.05). Flowserve had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 5.90%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Flowserve will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowserve Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. Flowserve’s payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

Flowserve Company Profile

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.