FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 34.5% in April to 4,778,159 shares (about 13.3% of the stock), leaving a days-to-cover ratio of 4.2.
• FactSet beat March-quarter estimates with EPS of $4.46 versus $4.37 and revenue of $611.02M versus $604.78M, with revenue up 7.1% year-over-year and strong profitability metrics (ROE 30.25%, net margin 24.48%).
• Analyst sentiment has cooled: the MarketBeat consensus rating is "Reduce" with a $279.85 price target after multiple firms trimmed targets, despite heavy institutional ownership (91.24%).

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,778,159 shares, an increase of 34.5% from the March 31st total of 3,552,154 shares. Currently, 13.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,139,169 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days.

FactSet Research Systems Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:FDS traded up $3.76 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $229.09. 522,837 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 997,283. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.43. The business's 50-day moving average price is $216.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $252.53. FactSet Research Systems has a 12 month low of $185.00 and a 12 month high of $474.79.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The business services provider reported $4.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.37 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $611.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $604.78 million. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 30.25% and a net margin of 24.48%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.28 earnings per share. Analysts predict that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.65 earnings per share for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. FactSet Research Systems's payout ratio is currently 28.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FactSet Research Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FDS. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 444,058.1% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 13,857,733 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,021,376,000 after acquiring an additional 13,854,613 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 58.8% in the fourth quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,888,845 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $838,314,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069,786 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 4,547.4% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 705,062 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $204,602,000 after acquiring an additional 689,891 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 1,843.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 597,723 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $173,453,000 after acquiring an additional 566,975 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of FactSet Research Systems in the fourth quarter worth approximately $151,492,000. 91.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FDS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $320.00 to $243.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $253.00 to $217.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Barclays reduced their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $300.00 to $210.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on FactSet Research Systems from $425.00 to $380.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FactSet Research Systems currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $279.85.

FactSet Research Systems Company Profile

FactSet Research Systems Inc operates as a global provider of integrated financial data and analytics to the investment community. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, the company offers a unified platform that aggregates content from thousands of sources, delivering real-time and historical market data, company fundamentals, estimates, fixed-income information and proprietary analytics to portfolio managers, research analysts, investment bankers and risk officers.

The company's core products include the FactSet Workstation, an application offering customizable screening, charting, portfolio analysis and news; APIs and data feeds for seamless integration into proprietary systems; and cloud-based solutions for thematic research and quantitative strategies.

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