John Bean Technologies Co. (NYSE:JBT) Short Interest Up 31.0% in October

John Bean Technologies Co. (NYSE:JBT - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,580,000 shares, an increase of 31.0% from the October 15th total of 1,970,000 shares. Currently, 8.2% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 302,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.5 days.

John Bean Technologies Stock Performance

JBT traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $117.69. 115,609 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 277,469. The company's fifty day moving average price is $101.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. John Bean Technologies has a 52-week low of $82.64 and a 52-week high of $122.90.

John Bean Technologies (NYSE:JBT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $453.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.20 million. John Bean Technologies had a return on equity of 10.16% and a net margin of 10.25%. John Bean Technologies's revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that John Bean Technologies will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of John Bean Technologies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of John Bean Technologies by 170.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 842,184 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $82,964,000 after acquiring an additional 531,298 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in John Bean Technologies by 57.5% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,279,425 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $121,507,000 after purchasing an additional 466,846 shares during the last quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of John Bean Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $29,385,000. Bamco Inc. NY increased its holdings in shares of John Bean Technologies by 23.8% in the 1st quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 650,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $68,178,000 after buying an additional 125,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of John Bean Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,151,000. 98.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

John Bean Technologies Company Profile

John Bean Technologies Corporation provides technology solutions to food and beverage industry in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. It offers value-added processing that includes chilling, mixing/grinding, injecting, blending, marinating, tumbling, flattening, forming, portioning, coating, cooking, frying, freezing, extracting, pasteurizing, sterilizing, concentrating, high pressure processing, weighing, inspecting, filling, closing, sealing, end of line material handling, and packaging solutions to the food, beverage, and health market.