Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH) Short Interest Update

Amphenol Co. (NYSE:APH - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,650,000 shares, a decline of 7.1% from the January 15th total of 13,620,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,910,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Amphenol from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Amphenol from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Amphenol from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Amphenol from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Amphenol from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amphenol presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.68.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amphenol

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amphenol by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 23,532 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $1,634,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its position in Amphenol by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 787 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Amphenol by 13.9% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in Amphenol by 50.0% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 498 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, MJP Associates Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Amphenol by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 7,324 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $509,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.01% of the company's stock.

Amphenol Stock Performance

APH traded down $1.80 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $67.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,002,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,630,358. Amphenol has a 52 week low of $52.89 and a 52 week high of $79.39. The company's 50-day moving average is $70.85 and its 200-day moving average is $68.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.37. The firm has a market cap of $81.84 billion, a PE ratio of 35.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.23.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The electronics maker reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. Amphenol had a return on equity of 25.67% and a net margin of 15.92%. The business had revenue of $4.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Amphenol will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Amphenol Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Amphenol's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.46%.

About Amphenol

Amphenol Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, primarily designs, manufactures, and markets electrical, electronic, and fiber optic connectors in the United States, China, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Harsh Environment Solutions, Communications Solutions, and Interconnect and Sensor Systems.