Sensata Technologies Holding plc (NYSE:ST) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Sensata Technologies Holding plc (NYSE:ST) saw a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,090,000 shares, an increase of 17.9% from the February 13th total of 3,470,000 shares. Approximately 2.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,790,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sensata Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sensata Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $1,384,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Sensata Technologies in the 4th quarter worth $1,075,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Sensata Technologies by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,217,602 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $33,362,000 after buying an additional 17,575 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Sensata Technologies by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 450,912 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $12,355,000 after buying an additional 65,607 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Sensata Technologies in the 4th quarter worth $11,284,000. 99.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sensata Technologies Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:ST traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.00. 456,080 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,645,918. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 2.85. The company has a fifty day moving average of $27.91 and a 200 day moving average of $31.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.33, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.20. Sensata Technologies has a 12 month low of $24.91 and a 12 month high of $43.14.

Sensata Technologies (NYSE:ST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76. Sensata Technologies had a net margin of 3.27% and a return on equity of 17.54%. On average, research analysts predict that Sensata Technologies will post 3.21 EPS for the current year.

Sensata Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. Sensata Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ST shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Sensata Technologies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Sensata Technologies from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Sensata Technologies from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Sensata Technologies from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.08.

Sensata Technologies Company Profile

Sensata Technologies Holding plc develops, manufactures, and sells sensors and sensor-rich solutions, electrical protection components and systems, and other products used in mission-critical systems and applications in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Performance Sensing and Sensing Solutions.