Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) Short Interest Up 5.6% in August

Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,150,000 shares, a growth of 5.6% from the August 15th total of 6,770,000 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,630,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Emerson Electric

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,488,948 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC acquired a new position in Emerson Electric during the second quarter worth about $574,908,000. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Emerson Electric by 5.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,510,496 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $496,877,000 after purchasing an additional 224,784 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Emerson Electric by 219.2% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,601,619 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $253,216,000 after acquiring an additional 1,786,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Emerson Electric by 17.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,358,796 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $259,809,000 after purchasing an additional 355,106 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.30% of the company’s stock.

Emerson Electric Price Performance

Emerson Electric stock traded up $1.56 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $103.95. 3,125,745 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,702,620. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $107.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $59.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.56, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.30. Emerson Electric has a 12-month low of $83.10 and a 12-month high of $119.53.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.01. Emerson Electric had a net margin of 10.12% and a return on equity of 11.41%. The company had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Emerson Electric will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Emerson Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Emerson Electric’s payout ratio is 11.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on EMR shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Emerson Electric from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays cut their price target on Emerson Electric from $110.00 to $103.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $137.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Emerson Electric from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Emerson Electric in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Emerson Electric currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.29.

Emerson Electric Company Profile

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.