The Timken Company (NYSE:TKR) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

The Timken Company (NYSE:TKR - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,750,000 shares, a growth of 23.3% from the April 30th total of 2,230,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 708,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days. Currently, 4.4% of the company's stock are sold short.

Timken Price Performance

Shares of TKR traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $70.75. The stock had a trading volume of 381,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 691,257. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $66.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.93. Timken has a 52 week low of $56.20 and a 52 week high of $90.49. The company has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 3.07 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

Timken (NYSE:TKR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by ($0.03). Timken had a net margin of 7.71% and a return on equity of 13.93%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.77 earnings per share. Timken's revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Timken will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Timken Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. This is a boost from Timken's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Timken's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TKR has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Timken from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Timken from $85.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Timken from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Timken from $94.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Timken from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Timken by 79.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 26,838 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 11,876 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Timken by 221.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 86,667 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,307,000 after buying an additional 59,716 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Timken during the fourth quarter valued at $14,460,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Timken during the fourth quarter valued at $574,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Timken by 88.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,877 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the period. 89.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Timken Company Profile

The Timken Company designs, manufactures, and sells engineered bearings and industrial motion products, and related services in the United States and internationally. The company's Engineered Bearings segment provides various bearing products, including tapered, spherical, and cylindrical roller bearings; plain bearings, metal-polymer bearings, and rod end bearings; radial, angular, and precision ball bearings; thrust and specialty ball bearings; journal bearings; and housed or mounted bearings.