Short Interest in Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK) Drops By 25.1%

Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,470,000 shares, a decrease of 25.1% from the October 15th total of 4,630,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Stanley Black & Decker Stock Performance

Stanley Black & Decker stock opened at $85.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 1.29. Stanley Black & Decker has a 1-year low of $77.70 and a 1-year high of $110.88. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.88.

Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE:SWK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.17. Stanley Black & Decker had a negative net margin of 1.33% and a positive return on equity of 6.44%. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. Stanley Black & Decker’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Stanley Black & Decker will post 4.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stanley Black & Decker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. Stanley Black & Decker’s dividend payout ratio is presently -239.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on SWK. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Stanley Black & Decker from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Stanley Black & Decker from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Stanley Black & Decker from $107.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Stanley Black & Decker from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Stanley Black & Decker from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Stanley Black & Decker presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.29.

Institutional Trading of Stanley Black & Decker

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Stanley Black & Decker by 7.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,410,842 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,802,975,000 after buying an additional 1,250,925 shares during the period. Clean Energy Transition LLP grew its holdings in shares of Stanley Black & Decker by 49.0% during the 3rd quarter. Clean Energy Transition LLP now owns 1,984,184 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $218,518,000 after purchasing an additional 652,780 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Stanley Black & Decker by 14,394.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 393,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,353,000 after purchasing an additional 390,941 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Stanley Black & Decker by 40.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 923,118 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $101,663,000 after purchasing an additional 267,723 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Stanley Black & Decker by 18.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,682,585 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $134,444,000 after buying an additional 267,013 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.77% of the company’s stock.

Stanley Black & Decker Company Profile

Stanley Black & Decker, Inc provides hand tools, power tools, outdoor products, and related accessories in the United States, Canada, Other Americas, Europe, and Asia. Its Tools & Outdoor segment offers professional grade corded and cordless electric power tools and equipment, including drills, impact wrenches and drivers, grinders, saws, routers, and sanders; pneumatic tools and fasteners, such as nail guns, nails, staplers and staples, and concrete and masonry anchors; corded and cordless electric power tools; hand-held vacuums, paint tools, and cleaning appliances; leveling and layout tools, planes, hammers, demolition tools, clamps, vises, knives, saws, chisels, and industrial and automotive tools; drill, screwdriver, router bits, abrasives, saw blades, and threading products; tool boxes, sawhorses, medical cabinets, and engineered storage solutions; and electric and gas-powered lawn and garden products.