Polaris Inc. (NYSE:PII) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Polaris Inc. (NYSE:PII) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,810,000 shares, a drop of 14.3% from the August 31st total of 3,280,000 shares. Currently, 5.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 783,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on PII shares. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on shares of Polaris from $92.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Longbow Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Polaris in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Polaris from $86.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Polaris from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Polaris from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.18.

Polaris Price Performance

Shares of PII opened at $84.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $81.95 and a 200 day moving average of $83.98. Polaris has a twelve month low of $71.90 and a twelve month high of $106.17.

Polaris (NYSE:PII) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.27 by ($0.89). The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. Polaris had a net margin of 3.98% and a return on equity of 26.38%. Polaris’s revenue was down 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Polaris will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Polaris Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Polaris’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Polaris

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Polaris in the first quarter worth $25,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Polaris during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Polaris by 174.1% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank bought a new position in Polaris in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Polaris by 1,931.3% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 650 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Polaris Company Profile

Polaris Inc designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets powersports vehicles in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Off-Road, On-Road, and Marine. The company offers off-road vehicles (ORVs), including all-terrain vehicles and side-by-side vehicles; military and commercial ORVs; snowmobiles; motorcycles; and moto-roadsters, quadricycles, and boats.