Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR) Short Interest Update

Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,010,000 shares, a decline of 16.9% from the November 15th total of 2,420,000 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,420,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Pentair Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE PNR opened at $107.16 on Friday. Pentair has a 12 month low of $68.08 and a 12 month high of $110.71. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $17.71 billion, a PE ratio of 26.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.20.

Pentair (NYSE:PNR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. Pentair had a return on equity of 20.48% and a net margin of 16.29%. The company had revenue of $993.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $988.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. Pentair’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Pentair will post 4.28 EPS for the current year.

Pentair Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Pentair’s dividend payout ratio is 23.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PNR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price target on Pentair from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Pentair from $113.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Pentair from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Pentair in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Pentair from $115.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Pentair presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.38.

Insider Transactions at Pentair

In related news, EVP Philip M. Rolchigo sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.67, for a total value of $357,615.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,916,853.44. This represents a 15.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pentair

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Pentair by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 32,249 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,187,000 after buying an additional 1,093 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Pentair by 35.1% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,411,000 after acquiring an additional 3,752 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Pentair in the third quarter worth about $117,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pentair during the third quarter worth about $302,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pentair by 101.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 11,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 6,024 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

About Pentair

Pentair plc provides various water solutions in the United States, Western Europe, China, Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Australia, Canada, and Japan. The company operates through three segments: Flow, Water Solutions, and Pool. The Flow segment designs, manufactures, and sells fluid treatment and pump products and systems, including pressure vessels, gas recovery solutions, membrane bioreactors, wastewater reuse systems and advanced membrane filtration, separation systems, water disposal pumps, water supply pumps, fluid transfer pumps, turbine pumps, solid handling pumps, and agricultural spray nozzles for fluid delivery, ion exchange, desalination, food and beverage, separation technologies in the oil and gas industry, residential and municipal wells, water treatment, wastewater solids handling, pressure boosting, circulation and transfer, fire suppression, flood control, agricultural irrigation, and crop spray in residential, commercial, and industrial markets.