Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Short Interest Update

Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,380,000 shares, a drop of 37.3% from the September 15th total of 2,200,000 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 758,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graco

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new position in Graco in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco in the first quarter worth $38,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the first quarter valued at $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Graco by 187.8% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Graco by 220.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Stock Performance

NYSE GGG traded up $0.33 on Monday, reaching $86.63. The stock had a trading volume of 62,188 shares, compared to its average volume of 731,576. The stock has a market cap of $14.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $82.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.12. Graco has a 12-month low of $69.78 and a 12-month high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.01. Graco had a return on equity of 22.40% and a net margin of 23.16%. The firm had revenue of $553.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $562.27 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Graco will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GGG shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Graco from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Graco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, September 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.25.

Graco Company Profile

Graco Inc designs, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials worldwide. The Contractor segment offers sprayers to apply paint to walls and other structures; two-component proportioning systems that are used to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; and viscous coatings to roofs, as well as markings on roads, parking lots, athletic fields, and floors.