ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM) Short Interest Down 6.3% in January

ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,630,000 shares, a decrease of 6.3% from the January 15th total of 1,740,000 shares. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 337,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at ABM Industries

In other news, CAO Dean A. Chin sold 4,281 shares of ABM Industries stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.36, for a total transaction of $224,153.16. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 18,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $978,137.16. The trade was a 18.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Rene Jacobsen sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.84, for a total transaction of $528,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 87,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,639,774.72. The trade was a 10.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ABM Industries

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC boosted its position in ABM Industries by 108.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,301 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 3,284 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its holdings in ABM Industries by 20.8% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,370 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,339,000 after buying an additional 4,374 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in ABM Industries by 21.8% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 135,085 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,127,000 after buying an additional 24,137 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ABM Industries in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of ABM Industries by 34.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,688 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 1,473 shares in the last quarter. 91.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ABM Industries Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of ABM Industries stock traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $52.88. The company had a trading volume of 184,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 284,046. The company has a 50 day moving average of $52.68 and a 200 day moving average of $53.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.16. ABM Industries has a 52-week low of $39.77 and a 52-week high of $59.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.33.

ABM Industries (NYSE:ABM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The business services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. ABM Industries had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 0.97%. ABM Industries’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that ABM Industries will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ABM Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. This is an increase from ABM Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. ABM Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, UBS Group raised their target price on ABM Industries from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

ABM Industries Company Profile

ABM Industries Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of integrated facility, infrastructure, and mobility solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates through Business & Industry, Manufacturing & Distribution, Education, Aviation, and Technical Solutions segments.