Short Interest in Invesco Ltd. (NYSE:IVZ) Drops By 21.7%

Invesco Ltd. (NYSE:IVZ) saw a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,100,000 shares, a decrease of 21.7% from the March 15th total of 10,350,000 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 5,310,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Invesco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IVZ traded up $0.14 on Friday, reaching $12.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,677,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,285,307. Invesco has a 52-week low of $11.60 and a 52-week high of $19.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.83, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $15.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 4.91 and a quick ratio of 4.91.

Invesco (NYSE:IVZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. Invesco had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 12.77%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Invesco will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

Invesco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.42%. Invesco’s payout ratio is currently 69.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen downgraded Invesco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $22.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Invesco from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Invesco from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Invesco from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Invesco from $19.50 to $14.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.03.

Institutional Trading of Invesco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in Invesco by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 25,868 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 4,620 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Invesco by 1.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,364,174 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $41,516,000 after acquiring an additional 35,031 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in Invesco by 255.2% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 39,784 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $706,000 after acquiring an additional 28,584 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Invesco during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Invesco by 136.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 127,777 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,265,000 after purchasing an additional 73,671 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.09% of the company’s stock.

Invesco Company Profile

Invesco Ltd. is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm provides its services to retail clients, institutional clients, high-net worth clients, public entities, corporations, unions, non-profit organizations, endowments, foundations, pension funds, financial institutions, and sovereign wealth funds.