Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS) Short Interest Update

Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,450,000 shares, an increase of 5.8% from the November 15th total of 1,370,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days.

Flowserve Stock Performance

FLS stock opened at $59.83 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a PE ratio of 29.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a 50 day moving average of $57.77 and a 200-day moving average of $51.68. Flowserve has a 12-month low of $39.21 and a 12-month high of $62.32.

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. Flowserve had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 17.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Flowserve will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowserve Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. Flowserve’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowserve

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FLS. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Flowserve by 155.2% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,624,919 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $126,259,000 after buying an additional 1,596,429 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Flowserve by 31.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,748,885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $132,221,000 after acquiring an additional 663,631 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Flowserve by 197.6% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 913,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,207,000 after acquiring an additional 606,416 shares during the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Flowserve in the 2nd quarter valued at about $23,911,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Flowserve by 34.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,664,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $86,055,000 after purchasing an additional 422,141 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FLS. Mizuho upped their target price on Flowserve from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Flowserve from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $69.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Flowserve in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Flowserve from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Flowserve from $65.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Flowserve currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.40.

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.