Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 27,370 Shares of Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS - Free Report) by 29.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,930 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 27,370 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned 0.05% of Flowserve worth $3,850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in Flowserve by 4,790.0% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 489 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Flowserve in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its stake in Flowserve by 415.7% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 593 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Flowserve by 64.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 711 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Flowserve by 185.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the period. 93.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Flowserve Price Performance

Shares of FLS stock traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $51.60. The stock had a trading volume of 1,701,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,293,190. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $46.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a PE ratio of 24.11, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.21. Flowserve Co. has a 12 month low of $37.34 and a 12 month high of $65.08.

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.11 billion. Flowserve had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 6.20%. The firm's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Flowserve Co. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Flowserve Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. Flowserve's payout ratio is currently 39.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Flowserve from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Baird R W raised Flowserve from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Flowserve from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Flowserve from $72.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Flowserve from $71.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Flowserve presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.11.

Flowserve Profile

Flowserve Corporation designs, manufactures, distributes, and services industrial flow management equipment in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates through Flowserve Pump Division (FPD) and Flow Control Division (FCD) segments. The FPD segment offers custom and pre-configured pumps and pump systems, mechanical seals, auxiliary systems, replacement parts, upgrades, and related aftermarket services; and equipment services, including installation and commissioning services, seal systems spare parts, repairs, advanced diagnostics, re-rate and upgrade solutions, retrofit programs, and machining and asset management solutions, as well as manufactures a gas-lubricated mechanical seal for use in high-speed compressors for gas pipelines and in the oil and gas production and process markets.