Short Interest in IDEX Co. (NYSE:IEX) Decreases By 9.0%

IDEX Co. (NYSE:IEX) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,420,000 shares, a decline of 9.0% from the November 15th total of 1,560,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 581,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

IDEX Stock Down 0.8 %

IEX stock traded down $1.82 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $222.26. 898,664 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 486,250. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $221.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $209.09. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.96. IDEX has a 1 year low of $189.51 and a 1 year high of $246.36.

IDEX (NYSE:IEX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.01. IDEX had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 15.92%. The business had revenue of $798.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $793.05 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that IDEX will post 7.89 EPS for the current year.

IDEX Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. IDEX’s payout ratio is 42.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IEX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of IDEX from $248.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of IDEX from $245.00 to $241.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on IDEX from $251.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on IDEX from $244.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, IDEX currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.14.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IDEX

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of IDEX by 3.2% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in IDEX by 1,373.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 339 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its position in IDEX by 7,940.0% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 402 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of IDEX by 17.9% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 110,078 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,148,000 after purchasing an additional 16,720 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of IDEX by 38.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 97.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About IDEX

IDEX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides applied solutions worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Fluid & Metering Technologies (FMT), Health & Science Technologies (HST), and Fire & Safety/Diversified Products (FSDP). The FMT segment designs, produces, and distributes positive displacement pumps, valves, small volume provers, flow meters, injectors, and other fluid-handling pump modules and systems, as well as flow monitoring and other services for the food, chemical, general industrial, water and wastewater, agricultural, and energy industries.