The Manitowoc Company, Inc. (NYSE:MTW) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

The Manitowoc Company, Inc. (NYSE:MTW) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 516,600 shares, a decline of 21.3% from the May 15th total of 656,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 224,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Manitowoc Stock Performance

Shares of Manitowoc stock traded down $0.37 during trading on Friday, hitting $10.90. 337,043 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 196,493. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Manitowoc has a 1 year low of $10.71 and a 1 year high of $19.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $387.39 million, a P/E ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 1.99. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.16.

Manitowoc (NYSE:MTW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.04). Manitowoc had a net margin of 1.23% and a return on equity of 7.33%. The firm had revenue of $495.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $496.93 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Manitowoc will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Manitowoc from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Manitowoc from $18.00 to $14.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their target price on Manitowoc from $15.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Manitowoc from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Manitowoc by 22.9% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 15,422 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,874 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Manitowoc by 4.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 39,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 1,516 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Manitowoc by 4.3% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 436,606 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,172,000 after buying an additional 18,181 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Manitowoc in the first quarter worth about $245,000. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Manitowoc by 63.7% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 36,847 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $521,000 after buying an additional 14,337 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.66% of the company’s stock.

Manitowoc Company Profile

The Manitowoc Company, Inc provides engineered lifting solutions in the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It designs, manufactures, and distributes crawler-mounted lattice-boom cranes under the Manitowoc brand; a line of top-slewing and self-erecting tower cranes under the Potain brand; mobile hydraulic cranes under the Grove, Shuttlelift, and National Crane brands; and hydraulic boom trucks under the National Crane brand.