Short Interest in RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM) Declines By 21.8%

RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,150,000 shares, a drop of 21.8% from the March 15th total of 1,470,000 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 605,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days.

RPM International Trading Down 1.2 %

RPM stock traded down $1.37 during trading on Friday, hitting $108.45. The company had a trading volume of 480,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 606,221. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $113.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.38. RPM International has a 12 month low of $78.52 and a 12 month high of $120.74. The stock has a market cap of $13.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.99, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.04.

RPM International (NYSE:RPM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. RPM International had a net margin of 7.61% and a return on equity of 26.72%. RPM International’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that RPM International will post 4.94 earnings per share for the current year.

RPM International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. RPM International’s payout ratio is 42.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on RPM shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on RPM International from $127.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on RPM International from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group boosted their target price on RPM International from $121.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on RPM International from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.11.

Insider Activity at RPM International

In other RPM International news, VP Matthew T. Ratajczak sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.63, for a total transaction of $657,780.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 23,451 shares in the company, valued at $2,570,933.13. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Frederick R. Nance sold 1,835 shares of RPM International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.05, for a total value of $200,106.75. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,180 shares in the company, valued at $892,029. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Matthew T. Ratajczak sold 6,000 shares of RPM International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.63, for a total value of $657,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 23,451 shares in the company, valued at $2,570,933.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of RPM International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RPM. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of RPM International by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 233,786 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $19,039,000 after acquiring an additional 19,318 shares during the last quarter. Cowa LLC increased its position in shares of RPM International by 9,901.1% in the 1st quarter. Cowa LLC now owns 322,637 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 319,411 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of RPM International by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,450 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA increased its position in shares of RPM International by 26.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 39,313 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,202,000 after buying an additional 8,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its position in shares of RPM International by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 23,423 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,908,000 after buying an additional 3,625 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.95% of the company’s stock.

RPM International Company Profile

RPM International Inc manufactures and sells specialty chemicals for the industrial, specialty, and consumer markets worldwide. It offers waterproofing, coating, and traditional roofing systems; sealants, air barriers, tapes, and foams; residential home weatherization systems; roofing and building maintenance services; sealing and bonding, subfloor preparation, flooring, and glazing solutions; resin flooring systems, polyurethane, MMA waterproof, epoxy floor paint and coatings, concrete repair, and protection products; fire stopping and intumescent steel coating, and manufacturing industry solutions; rolled asphalt roofing materials and chemical admixtures; concrete and masonry admixtures, concrete fibers, curing and sealing compounds, structural grouts and mortars, epoxy adhesives, injection resins, polyurethane foams, floor hardeners and toppings, joint fillers, industrial and architectural coatings, decorative color/stains/stamps, and restoration materials; insulated building cladding materials; and concrete form wall systems.