Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,720,000 shares, a growth of 7.1% from the August 15th total of 2,540,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 709,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days. Currently, 3.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Allegion by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 130,196 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $16,495,000 after buying an additional 5,133 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allegion in the first quarter worth $2,271,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Allegion by 90.7% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 121,597 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $16,380,000 after purchasing an additional 57,832 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC lifted its position in Allegion by 107.6% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 218,489 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $27,717,000 after purchasing an additional 113,227 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Allegion by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 850,987 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $107,813,000 after purchasing an additional 19,981 shares during the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allegion Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE ALLE opened at $143.39 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $133.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.44. Allegion has a 1-year low of $95.94 and a 1-year high of $146.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.12.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $965.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $953.63 million. Allegion had a return on equity of 47.21% and a net margin of 15.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.76 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Allegion will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 20th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. Allegion’s payout ratio is presently 31.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ALLE shares. Barclays upped their target price on Allegion from $112.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Allegion from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Allegion from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Allegion presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.40.

Allegion Company Profile

Allegion plc manufactures and sells mechanical and electronic security products and solutions worldwide. The company offers door controls and systems and exit devices; locks, locksets, portable locks, and key systems and services; electronic security products and access control systems; time, attendance, and workforce productivity systems; doors, accessories, and other.