Adient plc (NYSE:ADNT) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Adient plc (NYSE:ADNT) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,640,000 shares, a growth of 7.0% from the March 31st total of 5,270,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,100,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.1 days. Approximately 6.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Adient from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Adient from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Adient from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $37.00 price target (down previously from $41.00) on shares of Adient in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.43.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Heather M. Tiltmann sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.68, for a total value of $336,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,874,931.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Adient

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Adient by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 17,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $630,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Adient by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Adient by 1.4% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 42,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,562,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. boosted its position in Adient by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. now owns 7,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 595 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Adient by 20.1% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 962 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Adient Price Performance

ADNT stock opened at $29.42 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.04 and a 200-day moving average of $33.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 2.39. Adient has a 12 month low of $27.73 and a 12 month high of $46.51.

Adient (NYSE:ADNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. Adient had a return on equity of 7.90% and a net margin of 1.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Adient will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Adient

Adient plc engages in the design, development, manufacture, and market of seating systems and components for passenger cars, commercial vehicles, and light trucks. The company's automotive seating solutions include complete seating systems, frames, mechanisms, foams, head restraints, armrests, and trim covers.