The Brink’s Company (NYSE:BCO) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

The Brink’s Company (NYSE:BCO) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,210,000 shares, a growth of 10.0% from the July 31st total of 1,100,000 shares. Approximately 2.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 304,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Brink’s Stock Performance

Shares of BCO stock traded down $1.72 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $109.21. 6,008 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 251,612. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $104.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.93. The company has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.50 and a beta of 1.46. Brink’s has a 12-month low of $64.15 and a 12-month high of $113.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.78, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Brink’s (NYSE:BCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.20. Brink’s had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 69.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. Brink’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Brink’s will post 7.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brink’s Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th will be paid a $0.2425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 29th. This represents a $0.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Brink’s’s payout ratio is currently 37.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Brink’s in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Brink’s from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brink’s presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.50.

Institutional Trading of Brink’s

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Brink’s by 21.4% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 852 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Brink’s by 26,095.5% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 17,289 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,770,000 after buying an additional 17,223 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Brink’s by 37.4% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 12,627 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,293,000 after buying an additional 3,439 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Brink’s by 504.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 17,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,793,000 after acquiring an additional 14,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Brink’s by 150.2% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 51,798 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,304,000 after acquiring an additional 31,094 shares during the period. 94.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brink’s Company Profile

The Brink's Company provides secure transportation, cash management, and other security-related services in North America, Latin America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers armored vehicle transportation of valuables; automated teller machine (ATM) management services, such as cash replenishment, cash forecasting, cash optimization, ATM remote monitoring, service call dispatching, transaction processing, installation, and first line maintenance services; and cash-in-transit services.