Short Interest in Ingersoll Rand Inc. (NYSE:IR) Decreases By 9.6%

Ingersoll Rand Inc. (NYSE:IR) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,940,000 shares, a decrease of 9.6% from the August 15th total of 9,890,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,410,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Ingersoll Rand Stock Up 3.3 %

NYSE:IR traded up $3.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $93.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,155,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,587,186. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $92.44 and a 200-day moving average of $92.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Ingersoll Rand has a 52-week low of $59.20 and a 52-week high of $101.30.

Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. Ingersoll Rand had a return on equity of 13.00% and a net margin of 11.73%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ingersoll Rand will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Ingersoll Rand Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.09%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Ingersoll Rand’s payout ratio is 3.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on IR. Cfra restated a “hold” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Ingersoll Rand in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ingersoll Rand from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ingersoll Rand from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Ingersoll Rand from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Ingersoll Rand from $93.00 to $88.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Insider Activity at Ingersoll Rand

In related news, insider Vicente Reynal sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.51, for a total value of $4,625,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,367 shares in the company, valued at $9,284,951.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Ingersoll Rand news, insider Elizabeth Meloy Hepding sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.42, for a total transaction of $685,650.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,559 shares in the company, valued at $599,623.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Vicente Reynal sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.51, for a total value of $4,625,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 100,367 shares in the company, valued at $9,284,951.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 77,510 shares of company stock worth $7,108,005. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ingersoll Rand

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ingersoll Rand during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Ingersoll Rand during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ingersoll Rand during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Ingersoll Rand during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ingersoll Rand during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.27% of the company’s stock.

About Ingersoll Rand

Ingersoll Rand Inc provides various mission-critical air, gas, liquid, and solid flow creation technologies services and solutions worldwide. It operates through two segments, Industrial Technologies and Services, and Precision and Science Technologies. The Industrial Technologies and Services segment designs, manufactures, markets, and services air and gas compression, vacuum, and blower products; fluid transfer equipment and loading systems; and power tools and lifting equipment, including associated aftermarket parts, consumables, air treatment equipment, controls, other accessories, and services under the under the Ingersoll Rand, Gardner Denver, Nash, CompAir, Elmo Rietschle brands, etc.