The Gorman-Rupp Company (NYSE:GRC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

The Gorman-Rupp Company (NYSE:GRC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 172,300 shares, a growth of 28.2% from the April 30th total of 134,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 70,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gorman-Rupp from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th.

Gorman-Rupp Price Performance

NYSE GRC traded down $0.09 on Wednesday, reaching $37.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 48,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 67,435. Gorman-Rupp has a 52 week low of $30.87 and a 52 week high of $43.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $975.77 million, a PE ratio of 24.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $35.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.64.

Gorman-Rupp (NYSE:GRC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.02. Gorman-Rupp had a return on equity of 12.79% and a net margin of 6.08%. The company had revenue of $163.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.84 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Gorman-Rupp will post 1.98 EPS for the current year.

Gorman-Rupp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.185 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. Gorman-Rupp's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GRC. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Gorman-Rupp by 91.8% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 24,711 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $937,000 after purchasing an additional 11,827 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new position in Gorman-Rupp in the fourth quarter valued at about $935,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Gorman-Rupp by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 19,773 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $750,000 after buying an additional 7,125 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gorman-Rupp by 81.8% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 16,216 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $615,000 after buying an additional 7,294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aurora Investment Counsel bought a new position in shares of Gorman-Rupp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,083,000. 59.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Gorman-Rupp

The Gorman-Rupp Company designs, manufactures, and sells pumps and pump systems in the United States and internationally. The company's products include self-priming centrifugal, standard centrifugal, magnetic drive centrifugal, axial and mixed flow, vertical turbine line shaft, submersible, high-pressure booster, rotary gear, diaphragm, bellows, and oscillating pumps.