ITT Inc. (NYSE:ITT) Short Interest Update

ITT Inc. (NYSE:ITT) was the target of a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,340,000 shares, an increase of 28.8% from the November 15th total of 1,040,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 373,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

ITT Stock Performance

Shares of ITT stock traded down $1.47 on Friday, reaching $150.70. The stock had a trading volume of 248,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 378,282. The stock has a market cap of $12.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.40. ITT has a fifty-two week low of $113.70 and a fifty-two week high of $161.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.58. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $151.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.52.

ITT (NYSE:ITT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The conglomerate reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.03. ITT had a return on equity of 17.98% and a net margin of 13.67%. The company had revenue of $885.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $884.50 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that ITT will post 5.84 EPS for the current year.

ITT Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.319 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. ITT’s dividend payout ratio is 21.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ITT

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in ITT in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV bought a new stake in shares of ITT in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in ITT by 315.8% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 237 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in ITT during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in ITT during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.59% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ITT. KeyCorp increased their price objective on ITT from $155.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on ITT from $171.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen increased their price objective on ITT from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of ITT from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of ITT in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ITT currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.75.

ITT Company Profile

ITT Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells engineered critical components and customized technology solutions for the transportation, industrial, and energy markets in the United States and internationally. The Motion Technologies segment manufactures brake pads, shims, shock absorbers, and energy absorption components; and sealing technologies primarily for the transportation industry, including passenger cars, trucks, light- and heavy-duty commercial and military vehicles, buses, and trains.