Timken Co (NYSE:TKR) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Timken Co (NYSE:TKR) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 985,600 shares, a decrease of 14.0% from the July 15th total of 1,145,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 664,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Several research firms have commented on TKR. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Timken in a report on Monday, June 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Timken from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 13th. ValuEngine cut shares of Timken from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Timken from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Timken from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $55.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Timken presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.75.

In other news, Director John M. Timken, Jr. bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction of $190,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 397,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,129,801.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 11.58% of the company’s stock.

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Timken by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,159,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,593,000 after acquiring an additional 197,312 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Timken by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 702,577 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,220,000 after acquiring an additional 71,270 shares during the period. Strs Ohio boosted its position in Timken by 7.9% in the first quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 7,714 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in Timken in the first quarter valued at about $320,000. Finally, Bailard Inc. acquired a new position in Timken in the first quarter valued at about $410,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

Shares of TKR opened at $38.81 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.75. Timken has a fifty-two week low of $33.98 and a fifty-two week high of $52.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $44.07 and a 200 day moving average of $45.76.

Timken (NYSE:TKR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.45 by ($0.18). Timken had a return on equity of 21.40% and a net margin of 8.38%. The firm had revenue of $1,000.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Timken will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 20th. Timken’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.79%.

Timken Company Profile

The Timken Company engineers, manufactures, and markets engineered bearings and power transmission products worldwide. It operates in two segments, Mobile Industries and Process Industries. The Mobile Industries segment offers a portfolio of bearings, seals, and lubrication devices and systems, as well as power transmission components, engineered chains, augers, belts, couplings, clutches, brakes, and related products and maintenance services to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and end users of off-highway equipment for the agricultural, construction, mining, outdoor power equipment, and power sports markets; and on-highway vehicles, including passenger cars, light trucks, and medium- and heavy-duty trucks, as well as rail cars and locomotives.