Short Interest in Invesco Ltd. (NYSE:IVZ) Expands By 41.3%

Invesco Ltd. (NYSE:IVZ) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,950,000 shares, an increase of 41.3% from the January 15th total of 8,460,000 shares. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,700,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IVZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Argus upped their price objective on Invesco from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on Invesco from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $20.00 target price (up from $18.00) on shares of Invesco in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Invesco from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Invesco from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Invesco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.94.

Invesco Stock Up 0.3 %

Invesco stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $18.48. The stock had a trading volume of 3,145,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,779,575. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 4.91 and a current ratio of 4.91. Invesco has a fifty-two week low of $14.16 and a fifty-two week high of $19.55. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.31 billion, a PE ratio of 15.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.43.

Invesco (NYSE:IVZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The asset manager reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. Invesco had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 12.77%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Invesco will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Invesco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.44%. Invesco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Invesco

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Invesco by 484.9% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Invesco in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Invesco by 304.0% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,400 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,806 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Invesco by 180.5% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 2,379 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Invesco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.09% of the company’s stock.

Invesco Company Profile

Invesco Ltd. is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm provides its services to retail clients, institutional clients, high-net worth clients, public entities, corporations, unions, non-profit organizations, endowments, foundations, pension funds, financial institutions, and sovereign wealth funds.