Short Interest in ADT Inc. (NYSE:ADT) Expands By 24.1%

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 significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 23,640,000 shares, a growth of 24.1% from the August 15th total of 19,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 13,100,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 3.5% of the company's stock are short sold. Approximately 3.5% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 13,100,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

ADT Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ADT traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $8.58. 22,313,181 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,130,221. ADT has a 1-year low of $6.68 and a 1-year high of $8.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 1.13. The company's 50-day moving average price is $8.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.28.

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

ADT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be issued a $0.055 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. This represents a $0.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. ADT's dividend payout ratio is 33.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ADT

In other ADT news, major shareholder Apollo Management Holdings Gp, sold 71,000,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.31, for a total value of $590,010,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 112,650,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $936,124,541.46. The trade was a 38.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ADT

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in ADT in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $219,825,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in ADT by 2,089.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 14,638,575 shares of the security and automation business's stock valued at $123,989,000 after acquiring an additional 13,969,976 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in ADT by 97.1% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 24,727,193 shares of the security and automation business's stock valued at $209,439,000 after acquiring an additional 12,182,009 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in ADT by 179.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 13,693,517 shares of the security and automation business's stock valued at $115,984,000 after acquiring an additional 8,796,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in ADT by 668.5% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 7,504,051 shares of the security and automation business's stock valued at $61,083,000 after acquiring an additional 6,527,539 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ADT. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on ADT from $9.00 to $9.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Citigroup boosted their price target on ADT from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Zacks Research raised ADT to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut ADT from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 7th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $9.34.

About ADT

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.