Share Repurchase Plan Initiated by Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) Board

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, January 16th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Otis Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of OTIS stock opened at $94.76 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.63 and a beta of 1.06. Otis Worldwide has a 12-month low of $85.61 and a 12-month high of $106.33.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.01). Otis Worldwide had a net margin of 11.48% and a negative return on equity of 31.28%. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. Otis Worldwide’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Otis Worldwide will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Otis Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Otis Worldwide’s payout ratio is currently 38.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on OTIS. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Otis Worldwide from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Otis Worldwide from $112.00 to $108.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wolfe Research cut Otis Worldwide from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Otis Worldwide from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Otis Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Otis Worldwide presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Abbe Luersman sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.02, for a total transaction of $909,180.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,009,391.84. The trade was a 47.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Otis Worldwide Company Profile

Otis Worldwide Corporation engages in manufacturing, installation, and servicing of elevators and escalators in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, New Equipment and Service. The New Equipment segment designs, manufactures, sells, and installs a range of passenger and freight elevators, as well as escalators and moving walkways for residential and commercial buildings, and infrastructure projects.