StockNews.com Downgrades Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) to Buy

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Several other research firms have also commented on DCI. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Donaldson from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Donaldson from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Donaldson currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.00.

Donaldson Price Performance

Shares of DCI opened at $68.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.05. Donaldson has a 1-year low of $65.10 and a 1-year high of $78.95.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $870.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $908.32 million. Donaldson had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 29.07%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Donaldson will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Trudy A. Rautio sold 14,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.60, for a total value of $946,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 26,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,785,992. This represents a 34.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Thomas R. Scalf sold 29,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.89, for a total transaction of $2,032,255.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 28,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,951,929.26. This represents a 51.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Donaldson during the 4th quarter valued at about $90,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Donaldson during the 4th quarter valued at about $719,000. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Donaldson during the 4th quarter valued at about $247,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 436,896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,425,000 after purchasing an additional 6,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Donaldson by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 495,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,387,000 after buying an additional 111,895 shares in the last quarter. 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.