Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,310,000 shares, a decline of 26.0% from the January 15th total of 1,770,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 721,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company's shares are short sold.

Insider Activity at Cummins

In other Cummins news, VP Sharon R. Barner sold 2,163 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.12, for a total transaction of $798,406.56. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,803 shares in the company, valued at $7,678,803.36. This represents a 9.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cummins

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Global Trust Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cummins by 59.6% during the fourth quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 75 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in Cummins in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Cummins in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Cummins by 208.0% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 77 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Cummins in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 83.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cummins Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CMI traded up $4.39 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $373.71. 802,013 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 888,607. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $361.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $339.39. Cummins has a 1-year low of $259.06 and a 1-year high of $387.90. The firm has a market cap of $51.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.00.

Cummins (NYSE:CMI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Cummins had a return on equity of 27.12% and a net margin of 11.57%. The firm had revenue of $8.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cummins will post 22.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cummins Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.82 per share. This represents a $7.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Cummins's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Cummins from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Cummins from $395.00 to $407.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Cummins from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America raised Cummins from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $354.00 to $358.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Vertical Research downgraded Cummins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Cummins currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $383.08.

About Cummins

Cummins Inc designs, manufactures, distributes, and services diesel and natural gas engines, electric and hybrid powertrains, and related components worldwide. It operates through five segments: Engine, Distribution, Components, Power Systems, and Accelera. The company offers diesel and natural gas-powered engines under the Cummins and other customer brands for the heavy and medium-duty truck, bus, recreational vehicle, light-duty automotive, construction, mining, marine, rail, oil and gas, defense, and agricultural markets; and offers parts and services, as well as remanufactured parts and engines.