Short Interest in Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI) Expands By 35.0%

Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,200,000 shares, a growth of 35.0% from the March 15th total of 1,630,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 949,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 1.6% of the company's shares are short sold.

Cummins Price Performance

Shares of Cummins stock traded up $10.63 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $294.30. The stock had a trading volume of 299,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 804,807. Cummins has a twelve month low of $260.02 and a twelve month high of $387.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.54 billion, a PE ratio of 10.44, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.07. The stock's 50 day moving average is $321.43 and its 200 day moving average is $344.24.

Cummins (NYSE:CMI - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $8.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Cummins had a net margin of 11.57% and a return on equity of 27.12%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Cummins will post 22.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cummins Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $1.82 per share. This represents a $7.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Cummins's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CMI shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cummins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. UBS Group cut Cummins from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $400.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Cummins from $425.00 to $340.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Cummins from $310.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Cummins from $407.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $346.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Global Trust Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Cummins by 59.6% in the 4th quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 75 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Cummins by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 3,749 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,296,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Cummins by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,313 shares of the company's stock worth $1,155,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co increased its position in shares of Cummins by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 2,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $856,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Cummins by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 4,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.46% of the company's stock.

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.