Short Interest in Standex International Co. (NYSE:SXI) Drops By 21.4%

Standex International Co. (NYSE:SXI) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 192,300 shares, a decline of 21.4% from the March 15th total of 244,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 66,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Standex International

In other news, CFO Ademir Sarcevic sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.44, for a total transaction of $390,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,143,847.84. This represents a 11.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Standex International

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. apricus wealth LLC increased its position in Standex International by 41.0% during the first quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 2,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Standex International by 25.2% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 780 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Standex International by 12.2% in the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 143,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,159,000 after acquiring an additional 15,600 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Standex International by 53.3% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Standex International by 5.5% in the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 11,864 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares during the period. 90.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SXI. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Standex International in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com cut Standex International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Standex International from $222.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Standex International in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Roth Capital raised Standex International to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $231.33.

Standex International Trading Down 0.1 %

SXI stock traded down $0.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $135.66. 59,856 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 54,856. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 29.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $167.80 and a 200-day moving average of $183.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 2.61 and a current ratio of 3.37. Standex International has a 1 year low of $130.05 and a 1 year high of $212.66.

Standex International (NYSE:SXI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.23. Standex International had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 13.28%. Analysts predict that Standex International will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Standex International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Standex International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.95%.

About Standex International

Standex International Corporation, together with subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of various products and services for commercial and industrial markets in the United States and internationally. It operates through five segments: Electronics, Engraving, Scientific, Engineering Technologies, and Specialty Solutions.