The Gorman-Rupp Company (NYSE:GRC) Short Interest Up 115.1% in January

The Gorman-Rupp Company (NYSE:GRC) was the target of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 142,200 shares, an increase of 115.1% from the January 15th total of 66,100 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 65,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Gorman-Rupp Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GRC opened at $38.08 on Friday. Gorman-Rupp has a fifty-two week low of $30.47 and a fifty-two week high of $43.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.39. The stock has a market cap of $998.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.26, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.97.

Gorman-Rupp (NYSE:GRC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.03). Gorman-Rupp had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 5.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Gorman-Rupp will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gorman-Rupp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.185 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Gorman-Rupp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Gorman-Rupp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gorman-Rupp

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. PDT Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Gorman-Rupp by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 13,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 4,130 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Gorman-Rupp by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 223,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,463,000 after purchasing an additional 23,158 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Gorman-Rupp by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 4,239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339 shares during the last quarter. Oberweis Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Gorman-Rupp by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Oberweis Asset Management Inc. now owns 83,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,163,000 after purchasing an additional 14,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Gorman-Rupp by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,646 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $745,000 after purchasing an additional 1,301 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.26% of the company’s stock.

Gorman-Rupp Company Profile

The Gorman-Rupp Company designs, manufactures, and sells pumps and pump systems in the United States and internationally. The company’s products include self-priming centrifugal, standard centrifugal, magnetic drive centrifugal, axial and mixed flow, vertical turbine line shaft, submersible, high-pressure booster, rotary gear, diaphragm, bellows, and oscillating pumps.