AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,040,000 shares, a growth of 30.3% from the May 31st total of 3,100,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 877,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on AAON shares. William Blair started coverage on shares of AAON in a research note on Monday, April 29th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AAON from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of AAON in a research note on Wednesday.

AAON Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of AAON opened at $87.24 on Friday. AAON has a fifty-two week low of $52.24 and a fifty-two week high of $96.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $79.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.17. The company has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.64 and a beta of 0.80.

AAON (NASDAQ:AAON) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The construction company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.07). AAON had a return on equity of 25.84% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $262.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $284.76 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. AAON’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that AAON will post 2.24 earnings per share for the current year.

AAON Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. AAON’s payout ratio is currently 14.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary D. Fields sold 28,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.13, for a total transaction of $2,146,866.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 64,295 shares in the company, valued at $4,894,778.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other AAON news, CEO Gary D. Fields sold 28,200 shares of AAON stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.13, for a total transaction of $2,146,866.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 64,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,894,778.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rebecca Thompson sold 13,500 shares of AAON stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $1,039,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,297 shares in the company, valued at $1,331,869. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AAON

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in AAON by 242.4% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,428 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after acquiring an additional 10,922 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in AAON by 79.8% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 58,898 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,186,000 after acquiring an additional 26,141 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in AAON during the 1st quarter worth approximately $281,000. Bamco Inc. NY boosted its holdings in shares of AAON by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 218,889 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $19,284,000 after buying an additional 26,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of AAON by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 562,933 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $49,595,000 after buying an additional 6,766 shares in the last quarter. 70.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AAON

AAON, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and selling air conditioning and heating equipment in the United States and Canada. The company operates through three segments: AAON Oklahoma, AAON Coil Products, and BASX. It offers rooftop units, data center cooling solutions, cleanroom systems, chillers, packaged outdoor mechanical rooms, air handling units, makeup air units, energy recovery units, condensing units, geothermal/water-source heat pumps, coils, and controls.