DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,580,000 shares, an increase of 19.9% from the February 28th total of 3,820,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

DTE Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of DTE traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $138.12. The company had a trading volume of 1,055,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,164,647. DTE Energy has a fifty-two week low of $103.06 and a fifty-two week high of $139.05. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.44. The stock has a market cap of $28.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.01. DTE Energy had a return on equity of 12.42% and a net margin of 11.27%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that DTE Energy will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

DTE Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $1.09 per share. This represents a $4.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. DTE Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on DTE shares. KeyCorp cut shares of DTE Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of DTE Energy from $137.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays downgraded DTE Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on DTE Energy from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on DTE Energy from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, DTE Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other DTE Energy news, SVP Joann Chavez sold 7,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.40, for a total transaction of $935,008.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,862,470.80. The trade was a 33.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Tracy J. Myrick sold 1,014 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.92, for a total transaction of $131,738.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,437 shares in the company, valued at $446,535.04. The trade was a 22.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,877 shares of company stock worth $1,559,205. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DTE. SkyOak Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of DTE Energy by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. SkyOak Wealth LLC now owns 2,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in DTE Energy by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,205 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $146,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its position in DTE Energy by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 2,139 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of DTE Energy by 4.0% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of DTE Energy by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 4,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. 76.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About DTE Energy

DTE Energy Company engages in the utility operations. The company's Electric segment generates, purchases, distributes, and sells electricity to various residential, commercial, and industrial customers in southeastern Michigan. It generates electricity through coal-fired plants, hydroelectric pumped storage, and nuclear plants, as well as wind and solar assets.