Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,660,000 shares, an increase of 45.4% from the May 15th total of 1,830,000 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,250,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised their price target on Cummins from $272.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Cummins from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Cummins from $231.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Cummins from $270.00 to $306.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Cummins from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $254.00 to $321.00 in a report on Friday, March 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $284.36.

Cummins Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:CMI traded down $3.90 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $266.48. The stock had a trading volume of 897,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 784,398. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $286.06 and a 200 day moving average of $265.54. The company has a market capitalization of $36.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.02. Cummins has a one year low of $212.80 and a one year high of $304.24.

Cummins (NYSE:CMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $5.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.11 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.36 billion. Cummins had a return on equity of 25.38% and a net margin of 5.70%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cummins will post 18.84 EPS for the current year.

Cummins Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a dividend of $1.68 per share. This represents a $6.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. Cummins’s payout ratio is 49.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Sharon R. Barner sold 3,880 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.86, for a total transaction of $1,113,016.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,987,628.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Jeffrey T. Wiltrout acquired 282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $285.11 per share, for a total transaction of $80,401.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,808.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sharon R. Barner sold 3,880 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.86, for a total value of $1,113,016.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,987,628.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cummins

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Cummins in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cummins during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated purchased a new stake in shares of Cummins during the third quarter valued at $28,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cummins in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Cummins in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.46% of the company’s stock.

About Cummins

Cummins Inc designs, manufactures, distributes, and services diesel and natural gas engines, electric and hybrid powertrains, and related components worldwide. It operates through five segments: Engine, Distribution, Components, Power Systems, and Accelera. The company offers diesel and natural gas-powered engines under the Cummins and other customer brands for the heavy and medium-duty truck, bus, recreational vehicle, light-duty automotive, construction, mining, marine, rail, oil and gas, defense, and agricultural markets; and offers parts and services, as well as remanufactured parts and engines.