IDEX Co. (NYSE:IEX) Short Interest Update

IDEX Co. (NYSE:IEX) saw a large decrease in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 793,000 shares, a decrease of 15.8% from the July 15th total of 942,000 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 516,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

IDEX Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IEX traded up $1.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $196.58. The company had a trading volume of 796,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 439,777. IDEX has a one year low of $183.76 and a one year high of $246.36. The company has a current ratio of 3.41, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $200.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $218.34. The firm has a market cap of $14.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.87, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.95.

IDEX (NYSE:IEX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $807.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $828.15 million. IDEX had a return on equity of 16.87% and a net margin of 18.19%. The business’s revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that IDEX will post 7.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

IDEX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 12th were paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 12th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. IDEX’s payout ratio is 36.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on IEX shares. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of IDEX from $245.00 to $238.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on IDEX from $250.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on IDEX from $256.00 to $241.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded IDEX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Argus cut IDEX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, IDEX has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.33.

Institutional Trading of IDEX

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in IDEX during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of IDEX in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in IDEX during the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Whittier Trust Co. increased its holdings in IDEX by 38.4% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in IDEX by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 241 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.96% of the company’s stock.

IDEX Company Profile

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.