Short Interest in Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) Grows By 26.6%

Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,050,000 shares, a growth of 26.6% from the April 30th total of 3,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,580,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Textron Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE TXT traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $74.54. The stock had a trading volume of 911,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,217,366. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Textron has a 1-year low of $57.70 and a 1-year high of $94.57. The company has a market capitalization of $13.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $70.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.68.

Textron (NYSE:TXT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $3.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.26 billion. Textron had a net margin of 6.01% and a return on equity of 14.92%. Textron's revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Textron will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Textron Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.11%. Textron's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Textron from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. TD Cowen upgraded Textron to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Textron from $82.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Textron from $111.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Textron currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $87.70.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Textron

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Textron by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,410,481 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $824,408,000 after buying an additional 76,972 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Textron by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,166,902 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $590,059,000 after buying an additional 433,567 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in Textron by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,483,692 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $572,465,000 after buying an additional 333,127 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Textron by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,595,861 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $350,619,000 after buying an additional 164,964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Textron by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,859,703 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $142,249,000 after purchasing an additional 302,712 shares during the last quarter. 86.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Textron

Textron Inc operates in the aircraft, defense, industrial, and finance businesses worldwide. It operates through six segments: Textron Aviation, Bell, Textron Systems, Industrial, Textron eAviation, and Finance. The Textron Aviation segment manufactures, sells, and services business jets, turboprop and piston engine aircraft, and military trainer and defense aircraft; and offers maintenance, inspection, and repair services, as well as sells commercial parts.