ADT Inc. (NYSE:ADT) Short Interest Update

ADT Inc. (NYSE:ADT - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 21,650,000 shares, a growth of 33.1% from the December 15th total of 16,260,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,670,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 4.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ADT. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of ADT from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of ADT from $8.20 to $9.20 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on ADT from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th.

ADT Trading Up 0.5 %

ADT stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $7.26. 4,943,447 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,094,965. ADT has a one year low of $6.09 and a one year high of $8.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.58 billion, a PE ratio of 7.89 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $7.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.28.

ADT (NYSE:ADT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The security and automation business reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.03. ADT had a net margin of 18.18% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.07 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that ADT will post 0.7 EPS for the current year.

ADT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th were issued a dividend of $0.055 per share. This represents a $0.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 12th. ADT's payout ratio is currently 23.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ADT

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of ADT by 3.3% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 247,390 shares of the security and automation business's stock valued at $1,880,000 after purchasing an additional 7,900 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of ADT by 27.7% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 53,222 shares of the security and automation business's stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 11,549 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in ADT in the second quarter worth $26,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ADT by 84.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 93,573 shares of the security and automation business's stock valued at $711,000 after purchasing an additional 42,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in shares of ADT in the 2nd quarter worth $336,000. Institutional investors own 87.22% of the company's stock.

About ADT

ADT Inc provides security, interactive, and smart home solutions to residential and small business customers in the United States. It operates through two segments, Consumer and Small Business, and Solar. The company provides burglar and life safety alarms, smart security cameras, smart home automation systems, and video surveillance systems.