ADT (NYSE:ADT) Hits New 52-Week High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of ADT Inc. (NYSE:ADT) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $8.25 and last traded at $8.08, with a volume of 996693 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.14.

The security and automation business reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.03. ADT had a net margin of 13.83% and a return on equity of 15.45%. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.07 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

ADT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be issued a $0.055 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $0.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. ADT’s payout ratio is presently 31.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADT has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on ADT from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of ADT from $8.20 to $9.20 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of ADT by 10.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,406,307 shares of the security and automation business’s stock worth $237,930,000 after acquiring an additional 3,427,575 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC raised its holdings in ADT by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 30,360,559 shares of the security and automation business’s stock worth $230,740,000 after purchasing an additional 780,762 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in ADT during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $195,461,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of ADT by 61.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,359,752 shares of the security and automation business’s stock worth $93,937,000 after purchasing an additional 4,705,544 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of ADT by 186.0% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,646,113 shares of the security and automation business’s stock valued at $73,310,000 after purchasing an additional 6,272,974 shares during the last quarter. 87.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ADT Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $7.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.17. The company has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

About ADT

ADT Inc provides security, interactive, and smart home solutions to residential and small business customers in the United States. It operates through two segments, Consumer and Small Business, and Solar. The company provides burglar and life safety alarms, smart security cameras, smart home automation systems, and video surveillance systems.