ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM) Short Interest Down 6.3% in January

ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,630,000 shares, a decline of 6.3% from the January 15th total of 1,740,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 337,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.8 days. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

ABM Industries Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE ABM opened at $52.55 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.33. The company has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.16. ABM Industries has a one year low of $39.77 and a one year high of $59.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $52.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.59.

ABM Industries (NYSE:ABM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The business services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.03. ABM Industries had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 0.97%. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. ABM Industries’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that ABM Industries will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ABM Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This is a positive change from ABM Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. ABM Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, UBS Group upped their price target on ABM Industries from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

Insider Activity at ABM Industries

In other ABM Industries news, CAO Dean A. Chin sold 4,281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.36, for a total value of $224,153.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 18,681 shares in the company, valued at $978,137.16. This represents a 18.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Rene Jacobsen sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.84, for a total value of $528,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 87,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,639,774.72. The trade was a 10.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of ABM Industries

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABM. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in ABM Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in ABM Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in ABM Industries in the third quarter worth $37,000. Adirondack Trust Co. increased its stake in ABM Industries by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 900 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in ABM Industries by 193.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 903 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.62% of the company’s stock.

ABM Industries Company Profile

ABM Industries Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of integrated facility, infrastructure, and mobility solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates through Business & Industry, Manufacturing & Distribution, Education, Aviation, and Technical Solutions segments.