Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 2,817,652 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 132% from the previous session’s volume of 1,214,812 shares.The stock last traded at $38.25 and had previously closed at $43.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Flowserve from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Flowserve from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $71.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup cut their price target on Flowserve from $73.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Flowserve from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Flowserve from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Flowserve currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.60.

Flowserve Stock Up 12.8 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $52.74 and a 200 day moving average of $56.20. The stock has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. Flowserve had a net margin of 6.20% and a return on equity of 17.08%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Flowserve Co. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowserve Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Flowserve’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FLS. FIL Ltd grew its stake in shares of Flowserve by 71.7% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,255,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $302,271,000 after acquiring an additional 2,193,904 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Flowserve during the fourth quarter worth about $94,629,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Flowserve by 307.1% in the 4th quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,888,917 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $108,651,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424,948 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Flowserve by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,068,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $118,953,000 after acquiring an additional 714,063 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Flowserve by 57.7% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,440,518 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $82,859,000 after purchasing an additional 527,250 shares during the last quarter. 93.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Flowserve Company Profile

Flowserve Corporation designs, manufactures, distributes, and services industrial flow management equipment in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates through Flowserve Pump Division (FPD) and Flow Control Division (FCD) segments. The FPD segment offers custom and pre-configured pumps and pump systems, mechanical seals, auxiliary systems, replacement parts, upgrades, and related aftermarket services; and equipment services, including installation and commissioning services, seal systems spare parts, repairs, advanced diagnostics, re-rate and upgrade solutions, retrofit programs, and machining and asset management solutions, as well as manufactures a gas-lubricated mechanical seal for use in high-speed compressors for gas pipelines and in the oil and gas production and process markets.