Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) Short Interest Up 47.4% in November

Xylem Inc. (NYSE:XYL) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,390,000 shares, an increase of 47.4% from the November 15th total of 2,300,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,280,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Xylem Stock Performance

NYSE:XYL traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $120.81. The company had a trading volume of 838,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,239,044. The firm has a market cap of $29.35 billion, a PE ratio of 35.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.05. Xylem has a 1-year low of $109.38 and a 1-year high of $146.08. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $127.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $132.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11. The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. Xylem had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 9.85%. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Xylem will post 4.23 EPS for the current year.

Xylem Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xylem

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Xylem by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,991,583 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $403,953,000 after acquiring an additional 554,609 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Xylem during the third quarter worth $68,593,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Xylem in the 3rd quarter valued at $52,169,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Xylem by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,657,785 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $223,851,000 after acquiring an additional 249,975 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Xylem by 246.6% during the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 324,504 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,012,000 after acquiring an additional 230,878 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on XYL. Citigroup upgraded Xylem from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $148.00 in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Xylem from $172.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research restated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Xylem in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Xylem from $163.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Xylem from $138.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.91.

About Xylem

Xylem Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and servicing of engineered products and solutions worldwide. It operates through four segments: Water Infrastructure, Applied Water, Measurement & Control Solutions, and Integrated Solutions and Services. The Water Infrastructure segment offers products, including water, storm water, and wastewater pumps; controls and systems; filtration, disinfection, and biological treatment equipment; and mobile dewatering equipment and rental services under the ADI, Flygt, Godwin, Sanitaire, Magneto, Neptune Benson, Ionpure, Leopold, Wedeco, and Xylem Vue brands.