Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) Short Interest Up 6.8% in October

Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,410,000 shares, a growth of 6.8% from the October 15th total of 1,320,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 492,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Donaldson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 28th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Donaldson from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Donaldson presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.67.

Donaldson Stock Down 1.1 %

Donaldson stock traded down $0.81 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $75.25. 21,589 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 483,242. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $73.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Donaldson has a 1-year low of $58.75 and a 1-year high of $78.71. The stock has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.04.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.06. Donaldson had a net margin of 11.54% and a return on equity of 29.47%. The business had revenue of $935.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $941.12 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Donaldson will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Donaldson

In related news, insider Amy C. Becker sold 14,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.89, for a total transaction of $1,056,905.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,368 shares in the company, valued at $3,015,313.52. This trade represents a 25.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Willard D. Oberton sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.37, for a total value of $198,099.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,983 shares in the company, valued at $2,053,112.71. This represents a 8.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 167,805 shares of company stock valued at $12,310,222 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Donaldson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Donaldson by 11.1% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Donaldson by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 95,557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,136,000 after acquiring an additional 3,763 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in shares of Donaldson by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 145,342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,854,000 after purchasing an additional 8,032 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in shares of Donaldson by 31.9% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 14,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,058,000 after acquiring an additional 3,464 shares during the period. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association boosted its position in shares of Donaldson by 43.3% in the first quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 5,472 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $409,000 after acquiring an additional 1,653 shares during the period. 82.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.