Entegris, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTG) Short Interest Down 7.0% in October

Entegris, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTG) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,930,000 shares, a decrease of 7.0% from the September 30th total of 5,300,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,090,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Entegris Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ ENTG traded down $2.20 on Thursday, reaching $104.71. 2,589,667 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,632,187. The company has a 50 day moving average of $109.55 and a 200 day moving average of $121.58. The company has a current ratio of 3.58, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Entegris has a fifty-two week low of $84.13 and a fifty-two week high of $147.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.79 billion, a PE ratio of 50.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.24.

Entegris (NASDAQ:ENTG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $812.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $802.43 million. Entegris had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 12.03%. Entegris’s revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Entegris will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entegris Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 30th. Entegris’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Entegris in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup raised Entegris from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $119.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho raised Entegris from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Entegris from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Entegris from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Entegris has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $146.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entegris

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ENTG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Entegris by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,666,653 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,061,251,000 after purchasing an additional 112,638 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Entegris by 7.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,085,147 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,838,988,000 after buying an additional 916,420 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Entegris by 0.6% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,858,757 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $251,676,000 after acquiring an additional 11,692 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Entegris by 20.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,523,824 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $206,326,000 after acquiring an additional 256,186 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Entegris by 130.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,379,963 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $155,287,000 after acquiring an additional 781,955 shares in the last quarter.

About Entegris

Entegris, Inc develops, manufactures, and supplies microcontamination control products, specialty chemicals, and advanced materials handling solutions in North America, Taiwan, China, South Korea, Japan, Europe, and Southeast Asia. It operates in three segments: Materials Solutions (MS); Microcontamination Control (MC); and Advanced Materials Handling (AMH).