Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) Short Interest Up 17.2% in January

Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,590,000 shares, an increase of 17.2% from the January 15th total of 10,740,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,100,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Emerson Electric

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Emerson Electric by 230,061.8% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 819,376 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $101,545,000 after purchasing an additional 819,020 shares during the period. Laurion Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Emerson Electric by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Laurion Capital Management LP now owns 5,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $662,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Emerson Electric in the fourth quarter valued at $1,239,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Emerson Electric by 53.6% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 214,352 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,565,000 after acquiring an additional 74,838 shares during the period. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Emerson Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,301,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on EMR shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Emerson Electric in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Emerson Electric from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Emerson Electric from $116.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 target price on shares of Emerson Electric in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Emerson Electric from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.90.

Emerson Electric Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:EMR traded down $2.00 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $123.30. 2,151,806 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,237,389. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $125.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.11. Emerson Electric has a 12-month low of $96.62 and a 12-month high of $134.85. The stock has a market cap of $70.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.34.

Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.10. Emerson Electric had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 13.74%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Emerson Electric will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Emerson Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.5275 dividend. This represents a $2.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Emerson Electric’s payout ratio is 50.36%.

About Emerson Electric

Emerson Electric Co, a technology and software company, provides various solutions for customers in industrial, commercial, and consumer markets in the Americas, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. It operates in six segments: Final Control, Control Systems & Software, Measurement & Analytical, AspenTech, Discrete Automation, and Safety & Productivity.