ADT Inc. (NYSE:ADT) Short Interest Up 24.1% in August

Key Points

• Short interest in ADT Inc. has increased by 24.1% in August, reaching a total of 23,640,000 shares, indicating growing bearish sentiment among investors.
• ADT reported strong quarterly earnings, with earnings per share of $0.23 that exceeded analysts’ expectations, alongside a 6.8% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.055, reflecting a 2.6% annualized yield, to be paid on October 2nd, showcasing ADT's commitment to returning value to shareholders.

ADT Inc. (NYSE:ADT - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 23,640,000 shares, an increase of 24.1% from the August 15th total of 19,050,000 shares. Approximately 3.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 13,100,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Based on an average daily volume of 13,100,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 3.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ADT from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of ADT from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of ADT from $9.00 to $9.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of ADT to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $9.34.

ADT Stock Up 1.9%

ADT traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $8.74. The company had a trading volume of 6,403,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,400,128. ADT has a 52 week low of $6.68 and a 52 week high of $8.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The company has a market capitalization of $7.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.23 and a beta of 1.13. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $8.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.29.

ADT (NYSE:ADT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The security and automation business reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. ADT had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 18.58%. The business's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.17 earnings per share. ADT has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.810-0.890 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that ADT will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ADT Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be paid a $0.055 dividend. This represents a $0.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 11th. ADT's payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Apollo Management Holdings Gp, sold 71,000,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.31, for a total value of $590,010,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 112,650,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $936,124,541.46. This represents a 38.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in ADT by 11.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,715,950 shares of the security and automation business's stock valued at $404,688,000 after acquiring an additional 5,160,835 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of ADT by 21.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 26,077,931 shares of the security and automation business's stock valued at $212,264,000 after purchasing an additional 4,624,120 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of ADT in the second quarter valued at approximately $219,825,000. LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of ADT by 97.1% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 24,727,193 shares of the security and automation business's stock valued at $209,439,000 after purchasing an additional 12,182,009 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of ADT by 5.5% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 16,346,077 shares of the security and automation business's stock valued at $138,451,000 after purchasing an additional 853,767 shares during the period. 87.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ADT Company Profile

ADT Inc provides security, interactive, and smart home solutions to residential and small business customers in the United States. It operates through two segments, Consumer and Small Business, and Solar. The company provides burglar and life safety alarms, smart security cameras, smart home automation systems, and video surveillance systems.