Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV) Short Interest Up 36.1% in January

Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,810,000 shares, an increase of 36.1% from the December 31st total of 1,330,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 794,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DOV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Dover from $202.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Dover from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $227.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on Dover from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Dover from $236.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Dover from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Dover presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $212.55.

Institutional Trading of Dover

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DOV. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Dover by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,214,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,191,531,000 after purchasing an additional 56,149 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Dover by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,228,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $616,945,000 after acquiring an additional 25,993 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Dover by 5.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,085,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $591,676,000 after acquiring an additional 149,378 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Dover by 1.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 984,743 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $188,815,000 after purchasing an additional 17,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Dover by 1.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 811,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $155,566,000 after purchasing an additional 9,464 shares during the period. 84.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Dover Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:DOV opened at $197.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $195.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Dover has a 12-month low of $148.45 and a 12-month high of $208.26.

Dover (NYSE:DOV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.20. Dover had a net margin of 18.63% and a return on equity of 23.61%. Equities research analysts predict that Dover will post 8.17 EPS for the current year.

Dover Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Dover’s payout ratio is currently 18.43%.

About Dover

Dover Corporation provides equipment and components, consumable supplies, aftermarket parts, software and digital solutions, and support services worldwide. The company's Engineered Products segment provides various equipment, component, software, solution, and services that are used in vehicle aftermarket, waste handling, industrial automation, aerospace and defense, industrial winch and hoist, and fluid dispensing end-market.