StockNews.com Downgrades Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) to Buy

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

DCI has been the subject of several other reports. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Donaldson in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued a market perform rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Donaldson from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Donaldson from $80.00 to $79.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $69.67.

Donaldson Stock Performance

NYSE:DCI opened at $69.74 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.59, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50 day moving average of $72.39 and a 200 day moving average of $72.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Donaldson has a 1-year low of $57.05 and a 1-year high of $78.03.

Donaldson (NYSE:DCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.08. Donaldson had a net margin of 11.54% and a return on equity of 29.47%. The firm had revenue of $927.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $915.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Donaldson will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Donaldson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. Donaldson’s payout ratio is 33.44%.

Insider Transactions at Donaldson

In related news, CFO Scott J. Robinson sold 37,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.97, for a total transaction of $2,668,472.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 37,702 shares in the company, valued at $2,675,710.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Donaldson in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Donaldson in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in Donaldson by 1,252.6% during the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Donaldson by 1,372.2% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in Donaldson by 408.1% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. 82.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.