Short Interest in Invesco Ltd. (NYSE:IVZ) Expands By 41.3%

Invesco Ltd. (NYSE:IVZ) saw a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,950,000 shares, an increase of 41.3% from the January 15th total of 8,460,000 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,700,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Invesco Price Performance

IVZ stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $18.48. 3,145,147 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,779,575. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 4.91 and a quick ratio of 4.91. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $17.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.45. Invesco has a 12 month low of $14.16 and a 12 month high of $19.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.66, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.43.

Invesco (NYSE:IVZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Invesco had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 12.77%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Invesco will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Invesco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Invesco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IVZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Invesco from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $20.00 price target (up from $18.00) on shares of Invesco in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus lifted their price target on Invesco from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Invesco from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Invesco from $19.00 to $20.75 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.94.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Invesco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in Invesco by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 76,279 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 9,946 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Invesco by 734.2% during the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 329,412 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,758,000 after acquiring an additional 289,924 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Invesco by 38.5% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,145,596 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $142,385,000 after buying an additional 2,264,551 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Invesco by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,361,463 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $111,198,000 after buying an additional 834,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Invesco by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 322,520 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,638,000 after buying an additional 6,016 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.09% of the company’s stock.

About Invesco

Invesco Ltd. is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm provides its services to retail clients, institutional clients, high-net worth clients, public entities, corporations, unions, non-profit organizations, endowments, foundations, pension funds, financial institutions, and sovereign wealth funds.