RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM) Short Interest Update

RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,090,000 shares, a decline of 18.7% from the October 15th total of 1,340,000 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 629,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on RPM International from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of RPM International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of RPM International from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on RPM International from $125.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on RPM International from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.70.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Michael J. Laroche sold 3,615 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.14, for a total transaction of $459,611.10. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,474,315.44. This represents a 23.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Tracy D. Crandall sold 3,718 shares of RPM International stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.71, for a total transaction of $497,133.78. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,040,297.98. The trade was a 14.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,083 shares of company stock valued at $1,443,549 in the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RPM International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in RPM International by 5.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,656,684 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $320,851,000 after acquiring an additional 145,070 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in RPM International by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in RPM International by 5.8% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 51,260 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,794 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates grew its position in RPM International by 4.0% during the third quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 26,194 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,169,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of RPM International by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,826 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.95% of the company’s stock.

RPM International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RPM traded down $0.74 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $135.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 591,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 633,063. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $128.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.99. RPM International has a one year low of $100.56 and a one year high of $138.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

RPM International (NYSE:RPM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. RPM International had a return on equity of 26.82% and a net margin of 8.43%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that RPM International will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RPM International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from RPM International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. RPM International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.77%.

About RPM International

RPM International Inc manufactures and sells specialty chemicals for the industrial, specialty, and consumer markets worldwide. It offers waterproofing, coating, and traditional roofing systems; sealants, air barriers, tapes, and foams; residential home weatherization systems; roofing and building maintenance services; sealing and bonding, subfloor preparation, flooring, and glazing solutions; resin flooring systems, polyurethane, MMA waterproof, epoxy floor paint and coatings, concrete repair, and protection products; fire stopping and intumescent steel coating, and manufacturing industry solutions; rolled asphalt roofing materials and chemical admixtures; concrete and masonry admixtures, concrete fibers, curing and sealing compounds, structural grouts and mortars, epoxy adhesives, injection resins, polyurethane foams, floor hardeners and toppings, joint fillers, industrial and architectural coatings, decorative color/stains/stamps, and restoration materials; insulated building cladding materials; and concrete form wall systems.