Short Interest in Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE:B) Declines By 6.4%

Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE:B - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,020,000 shares, a decline of 6.4% from the February 29th total of 1,090,000 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 331,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Institutional Trading of Barnes Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY raised its stake in Barnes Group by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 3,164 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its position in shares of Barnes Group by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,401 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Barnes Group by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 25,863 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,091,000 after buying an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in shares of Barnes Group by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 4,574 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP raised its position in shares of Barnes Group by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 19,347 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.82% of the company's stock.

Barnes Group Stock Performance

Barnes Group stock traded down $0.85 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $36.30. 224,781 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 343,246. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $35.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.80. The firm has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 119.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 2.29. Barnes Group has a 52 week low of $18.79 and a 52 week high of $43.65.

Barnes Group (NYSE:B - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.06. Barnes Group had a net margin of 1.10% and a return on equity of 6.20%. The firm had revenue of $415.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $420.47 million. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 32.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Barnes Group will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barnes Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Barnes Group's payout ratio is 206.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

B has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Barnes Group from $23.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Barnes Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Barnes Group from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th.

About Barnes Group

Barnes Group Inc provides engineered products, industrial technologies, and solutions in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Industrial and Aerospace. The Industrial segment offers precision components, products, and systems used by various customers in end-markets, such as mobility, industrial equipment, automation, personal care, packaging, electronics, and medical devices.