TechnipFMC plc (NYSE:FTI) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

TechnipFMC plc (NYSE:FTI) saw a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,120,000 shares, an increase of 10.6% from the October 31st total of 6,440,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,810,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FTI. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $37.00 price target on shares of TechnipFMC in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of TechnipFMC from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of TechnipFMC from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of TechnipFMC in a report on Monday, November 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of TechnipFMC from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $33.91.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TechnipFMC

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in TechnipFMC by 23.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,639,244 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $98,838,000 after purchasing an additional 679,748 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of TechnipFMC by 264.1% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 28,783 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $755,000 after acquiring an additional 20,877 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of TechnipFMC by 1.9% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 67,575 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,772,000 after acquiring an additional 1,245 shares during the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of TechnipFMC during the third quarter worth about $6,049,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of TechnipFMC by 18.8% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 20,602 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 3,255 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.58% of the company’s stock.

TechnipFMC Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:FTI traded up $0.21 on Tuesday, hitting $31.52. 4,086,133 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,004,624. TechnipFMC has a 12 month low of $18.33 and a 12 month high of $31.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.74 and a beta of 1.54. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

TechnipFMC (NYSE:FTI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.35 billion. TechnipFMC had a return on equity of 20.11% and a net margin of 7.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.21 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that TechnipFMC will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TechnipFMC declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to buy up to 9.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

TechnipFMC Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. TechnipFMC’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.16%.

About TechnipFMC

TechnipFMC plc engages in the energy projects, technologies, and systems and services businesses in Europe, Central Asia, North America, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, Africa, the Middle East, and internationally. It operates through two segments: Subsea and Surface Technologies. The Subsea segment engages in the design, engineering, procurement, manufacturing, fabrication, installation, and life of field services for subsea systems, subsea field infrastructure, and subsea pipe systems used in oil and gas production and transportation.