Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Thursday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Donaldson from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Donaldson from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.00.

Donaldson Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:DCI opened at $71.71 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.06. Donaldson has a 1-year low of $64.06 and a 1-year high of $78.95. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $71.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.01. Donaldson had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 29.07%. The business had revenue of $900.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $888.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. Donaldson’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Donaldson will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Donaldson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Donaldson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Donaldson

In related news, Director Trudy A. Rautio sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.60, for a total transaction of $946,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,785,992. This trade represents a 34.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Donaldson

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DCI. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Donaldson by 4.4% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 123,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,804,000 after purchasing an additional 5,129 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Donaldson during the 2nd quarter worth about $385,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Donaldson during the 2nd quarter worth about $722,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Donaldson by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 32,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,292,000 after acquiring an additional 925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Donaldson by 9.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 173,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,393,000 after acquiring an additional 14,665 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.81% of the company’s stock.

Donaldson Company Profile

Donaldson Company, Inc manufactures and sells filtration systems and replacement parts worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Mobile Solutions, Industrial Solutions, and Life Sciences. Its Mobile Solutions segment provides replacement filters for air and liquid filtration applications, such as air filtration systems; liquid filtration systems for fuel, lube, and hydraulic applications; exhaust and emissions systems and sensors; indicators; and monitoring systems.