Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,410,000 shares, an increase of 6.8% from the October 15th total of 1,320,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 492,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company's shares are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Thomas R. Scalf sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.16, for a total value of $182,900.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 28,334 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,072,915.44. This trade represents a 8.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James Owens sold 5,210 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.74, for a total transaction of $373,765.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,788 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,276,111.12. This trade represents a 22.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 167,805 shares of company stock worth $12,310,222. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Donaldson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Donaldson by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,523 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Donaldson by 4.1% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 95,557 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,136,000 after acquiring an additional 3,763 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in Donaldson by 5.8% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 145,342 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $10,854,000 after acquiring an additional 8,032 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in Donaldson by 31.9% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 14,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,058,000 after acquiring an additional 3,464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association increased its position in shares of Donaldson by 43.3% in the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 5,472 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 1,653 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.81% of the company's stock.

Donaldson Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:DCI traded down $0.79 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $75.27. The company had a trading volume of 417,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 485,011. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.04. Donaldson has a 1 year low of $58.75 and a 1 year high of $78.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.06. Donaldson had a return on equity of 29.47% and a net margin of 11.54%. The firm had revenue of $935.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $941.12 million. Equities analysts forecast that Donaldson will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DCI has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Donaldson from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com raised Donaldson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $69.67.

About Donaldson

Donaldson Company, Inc manufactures and sells filtration systems and replacement parts worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Mobile Solutions, Industrial Solutions, and Life Sciences. Its Mobile Solutions segment provides replacement filters for air and liquid filtration applications, such as air filtration systems; liquid filtration systems for fuel, lube, and hydraulic applications; exhaust and emissions systems and sensors; indicators; and monitoring systems.