Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Invests $2.98 Million in ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new position in ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 63,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,984,000. ABM Industries makes up about 0.7% of Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ABM Industries by 834.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 1,820 shares during the last quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in ABM Industries by 17.4% in the first quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,016 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in ABM Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $190,000. Bridgefront Capital LLC purchased a new position in ABM Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ABM Industries during the fourth quarter worth $213,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised ABM Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. UBS Group raised shares of ABM Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $50.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of ABM Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Baird R W raised shares of ABM Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Truist Financial raised shares of ABM Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $56.00.

ABM Industries Price Performance

Shares of ABM Industries stock traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $48.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 29,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 506,702. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $48.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.65. ABM Industries Incorporated has a one year low of $40.85 and a one year high of $59.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.78.

ABM Industries (NYSE:ABM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 6th. The business services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.01). ABM Industries had a net margin of 0.93% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. ABM Industries’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that ABM Industries Incorporated will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

ABM Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. ABM Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ABM Industries

In other ABM Industries news, COO Rene Jacobsen sold 17,250 shares of ABM Industries stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $828,517.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 71,256 shares in the company, valued at $3,422,425.68. This trade represents a 19.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas M. Gartland sold 3,711 shares of ABM Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.52, for a total transaction of $168,924.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 30,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,409,208.16. This trade represents a 10.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 73,335 shares of company stock valued at $3,730,745. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

ABM Industries 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.