Espey Mfg. & Electronics Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:ESP) Short Interest Up 592.7% in June

Key Points

• Short interest in Espey Mfg. & Electronics surged 592.7% in June, rising to 85,081 shares as of June 30. That means about 3.0% of the float was sold short, with a short-interest ratio of 1.3 days.
• Wall Street sentiment remains cautious after Freedom Capital downgraded the stock from “strong-buy” to “hold”. MarketBeat says the company’s average analyst rating is currently “Hold.”
• Insiders sold shares recently, including CEO David A. Oneil and insider Jennifer Michele Pickering, while the company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share. The stock traded at $59.92 on Friday, below its 52-week high of $74.77.

Espey Mfg. & Electronics Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:ESP - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 85,081 shares, an increase of 592.7% from the June 15th total of 12,283 shares. Currently, 3.0% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 67,186 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Freedom Capital lowered shares of Espey Mfg. & Electronics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Espey Mfg. & Electronics currently has an average rating of "Hold".

Insider Activity at Espey Mfg. & Electronics

In other news, CEO David A. Oneil sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total transaction of $169,275.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 13,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $931,012.50. This trade represents a 15.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Michele Pickering sold 2,500 shares of Espey Mfg. & Electronics stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $157,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $157,500. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 11,100 shares of company stock worth $727,674 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.54% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Espey Mfg. & Electronics

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sage Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Espey Mfg. & Electronics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $680,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Espey Mfg. & Electronics by 98.1% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 17,808 shares of the company's stock valued at $839,000 after buying an additional 8,817 shares during the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Espey Mfg. & Electronics by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 14,441 shares of the company's stock worth $681,000 after buying an additional 932 shares during the period. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC acquired a new position in shares of Espey Mfg. & Electronics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $267,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Espey Mfg. & Electronics by 56,588.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,102 shares of the company's stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 5,093 shares during the period. 36.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Espey Mfg. & Electronics Price Performance

NYSEAMERICAN:ESP traded down $1.58 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $59.92. 26,698 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 48,952. Espey Mfg. & Electronics has a twelve month low of $36.00 and a twelve month high of $74.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $62.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.21.

Espey Mfg. & Electronics (NYSEAMERICAN:ESP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $11.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.20 million. Espey Mfg. & Electronics had a return on equity of 20.38% and a net margin of 25.50%.

Espey Mfg. & Electronics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Espey Mfg. & Electronics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.82%.

About Espey Mfg. & Electronics

Espey Manufacturing & Electronics Corp., founded in 1961 and headquartered in Lowell, Massachusetts, specializes in the design, development and manufacture of precision electronic components and sensor systems. The company's core product offerings include magnetostrictive transducers, torque and position sensors, wideband RF and microwave amplifiers, as well as high-reliability printed circuit boards and molded bus assemblies. These solutions are engineered to withstand harsh operating environments and meet stringent performance requirements.

Espey's sensor technologies are employed in applications ranging from industrial automation and energy production to commercial and military aerospace platforms.

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