Sensata Technologies Holding plc (NYSE:ST) Short Interest Update

Sensata Technologies Holding plc (NYSE:ST) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,090,000 shares, an increase of 17.9% from the February 13th total of 3,470,000 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,790,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sensata Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sensata Technologies by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 29,346 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Sensata Technologies by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,442 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Sensata Technologies by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 43,810 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,200,000 after buying an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in Sensata Technologies by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 65,706 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,800,000 after buying an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Sensata Technologies by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 31,111 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $852,000 after buying an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. 99.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Sensata Technologies from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Sensata Technologies from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Sensata Technologies from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Sensata Technologies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.08.

Sensata Technologies Stock Performance

ST traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $28.13. 202,989 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,641,524. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Sensata Technologies has a 1-year low of $24.91 and a 1-year high of $43.14.

Sensata Technologies (NYSE:ST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.76. Sensata Technologies had a net margin of 3.27% and a return on equity of 17.54%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sensata Technologies will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Sensata Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Sensata Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

About Sensata Technologies

Sensata Technologies Holding plc develops, manufactures, and sells sensors and sensor-rich solutions, electrical protection components and systems, and other products used in mission-critical systems and applications in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Performance Sensing and Sensing Solutions.