Short Interest in Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS) Decreases By 6.0%

Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,720,000 shares, a decrease of 6.0% from the August 31st total of 1,830,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 968,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Flowserve Stock Performance

Shares of FLS opened at $51.85 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.32, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.39. Flowserve has a 52-week low of $35.31 and a 52-week high of $53.86. The business’s 50 day moving average is $48.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.84.

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Flowserve had a return on equity of 16.74% and a net margin of 5.67%. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Analysts forecast that Flowserve will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowserve Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. Flowserve’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowserve

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. RBA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Flowserve during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,112,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Flowserve in the 1st quarter worth about $3,808,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Flowserve by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 617,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,226,000 after purchasing an additional 76,400 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Flowserve by 541.1% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 415,732 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,616,000 after purchasing an additional 350,889 shares during the period. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Flowserve in the 1st quarter worth about $874,000. 93.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on FLS. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Flowserve from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Flowserve from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen upped their price target on Flowserve from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Flowserve in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Flowserve from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.88.

About Flowserve

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.