Short Interest in ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM) Rises By 28.3%

ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,540,000 shares, an increase of 28.3% from the December 15th total of 1,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 378,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.1 days. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of ABM Industries from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th.

ABM Industries Price Performance

Shares of ABM traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $53.14. 204,937 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 404,666. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $54.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.50. ABM Industries has a 52-week low of $39.64 and a 52-week high of $59.78. The company has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

ABM Industries (NYSE:ABM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The business services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.03. ABM Industries had a net margin of 0.97% and a return on equity of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that ABM Industries will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

ABM Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. This is a boost from ABM Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. ABM Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 83.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ABM Industries

In other ABM Industries news, CAO Dean A. Chin sold 4,281 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.36, for a total value of $224,153.16. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 18,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $978,137.16. This represents a 18.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BOKF NA purchased a new stake in ABM Industries during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of ABM Industries in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ABM Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Adirondack Trust Co. grew its position in ABM Industries by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 900 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in ABM Industries by 58.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. 91.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ABM Industries Company Profile

ABM Industries Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of integrated facility, infrastructure, and mobility solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates through Business & Industry, Manufacturing & Distribution, Education, Aviation, and Technical Solutions segments.