The Manitowoc Company, Inc. (NYSE:MTW) Short Interest Update

The Manitowoc Company, Inc. (NYSE:MTW - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 564,800 shares, a drop of 15.6% from the November 30th total of 669,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 305,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTW has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Manitowoc from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Manitowoc from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Manitowoc from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.47.

Institutional Trading of Manitowoc

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Isthmus Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Manitowoc by 1.8% during the second quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 214,984 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 3,767 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Manitowoc during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Manitowoc by 88.1% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,834 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Manitowoc during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Manitowoc by 63.0% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 4,728 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 1,828 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.66% of the company's stock.

Manitowoc Price Performance

MTW stock traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $8.77. 240,940 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 280,609. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $308.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.48 and a beta of 1.83. Manitowoc has a 1-year low of $8.50 and a 1-year high of $17.65.

Manitowoc (NYSE:MTW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $524.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $516.49 million. Manitowoc had a positive return on equity of 2.40% and a negative net margin of 0.40%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Manitowoc will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

About Manitowoc

The Manitowoc Company, Inc provides engineered lifting solutions in the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It designs, manufactures, and distributes crawler-mounted lattice-boom cranes under the Manitowoc brand; a line of top-slewing and self-erecting tower cranes under the Potain brand; mobile hydraulic cranes under the Grove, Shuttlelift, and National Crane brands; and hydraulic boom trucks under the National Crane brand.