nVent Electric plc (NYSE:NVT) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

nVent Electric plc (NYSE:NVT) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,310,000 shares, an increase of 33.1% from the January 31st total of 4,740,000 shares. Approximately 3.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,850,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

nVent Electric Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NVT opened at $56.03 on Thursday. nVent Electric has a twelve month low of $53.30 and a twelve month high of $86.57. The company’s 50 day moving average is $66.92 and its 200 day moving average is $69.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $9.25 billion, a PE ratio of 28.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.31.

nVent Electric (NYSE:NVT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.59. nVent Electric had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 14.52%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that nVent Electric will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

nVent Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. nVent Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in nVent Electric by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in nVent Electric by 26.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in nVent Electric by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in nVent Electric by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 11,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $782,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in nVent Electric by 91.9% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on NVT shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of nVent Electric from $88.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of nVent Electric from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of nVent Electric from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, nVent Electric has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $85.50.

About nVent Electric

nVent Electric plc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, markets, installs, and services electrical connection and protection solutions in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Enclosures, Electrical & Fastening Solutions, and Thermal Management.