Short Interest in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) Increases By 6.3%

Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) was the target of a large increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,410,000 shares, an increase of 6.3% from the March 31st total of 6,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,680,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on EMR shares. Mizuho upped their price target on Emerson Electric from $118.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Emerson Electric from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Emerson Electric from $106.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Emerson Electric from $120.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Emerson Electric from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.25.

Emerson Electric Price Performance

Emerson Electric stock opened at $106.45 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.12. Emerson Electric has a 52-week low of $76.94 and a 52-week high of $115.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $110.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.54, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.36.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.18. Emerson Electric had a net margin of 69.33% and a return on equity of 11.59%. The firm had revenue of $4.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Emerson Electric will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Emerson Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. Emerson Electric’s payout ratio is currently 10.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark A. Blinn sold 2,413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.18, for a total value of $248,973.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $989,599.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EMR. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Emerson Electric by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,750,393 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,327,876,000 after buying an additional 1,008,294 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Emerson Electric by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,435,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,307,680,000 after purchasing an additional 1,488,948 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in Emerson Electric by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 10,654,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,036,982,000 after purchasing an additional 62,105 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Emerson Electric by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,199,836 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $791,858,000 after buying an additional 1,184,202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Emerson Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $764,604,000. 74.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Emerson Electric

Emerson Electric Co, a technology and software company, provides various solutions for customers in industrial, commercial, and consumer markets in the Americas, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. It operates in six segments: Final Control, Control Systems & Software, Measurement & Analytical, AspenTech, Discrete Automation, and Safety & Productivity.