ADT Inc. (NYSE:ADT) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

ADT Inc. (NYSE:ADT) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,230,000 shares, a decrease of 34.3% from the October 31st total of 21,650,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,220,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 3.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

ADT Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE ADT opened at $7.66 on Friday. ADT has a 1 year low of $5.63 and a 1 year high of $8.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.95 billion, a PE ratio of 8.33 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The business’s 50-day moving average is $7.33 and its 200 day moving average is $7.33.

ADT (NYSE:ADT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The security and automation business reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. ADT had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 18.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.07 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that ADT will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current year.

ADT Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be issued a $0.055 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $0.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. ADT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ADT

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ADT. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in ADT by 284.6% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 94,204 shares of the security and automation business’s stock worth $633,000 after buying an additional 69,712 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of ADT by 180.3% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 12,308 shares of the security and automation business’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 7,917 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of ADT by 14.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 131,678 shares of the security and automation business’s stock valued at $886,000 after purchasing an additional 16,816 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in ADT by 10.5% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 106,596 shares of the security and automation business’s stock worth $716,000 after purchasing an additional 10,119 shares during the period. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in ADT in the first quarter worth $278,000. 87.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADT has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on ADT from $8.20 to $9.20 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of ADT from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

About ADT

ADT Inc provides security, interactive, and smart home solutions to residential and small business customers in the United States. It operates through two segments, Consumer and Small Business, and Solar. The company provides burglar and life safety alarms, smart security cameras, smart home automation systems, and video surveillance systems.