TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL) Short Interest Update

TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE:TEL) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,280,000 shares, a decline of 14.8% from the December 31st total of 3,850,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,600,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Shadrak W. Kroeger sold 3,889 shares of TE Connectivity stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total value of $587,744.57. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,925,752.88. The trade was a 13.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of TE Connectivity

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new stake in shares of TE Connectivity during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $149,211,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in TE Connectivity by 2,330.3% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 753,572 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $107,738,000 after acquiring an additional 722,565 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in TE Connectivity by 31.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,004,540 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $445,603,000 after acquiring an additional 712,228 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in TE Connectivity by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,367,650 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $508,481,000 after acquiring an additional 694,917 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of TE Connectivity in the fourth quarter worth $46,675,000. 91.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

TE Connectivity Stock Down 1.2 %

TEL stock traded down $1.76 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $148.05. 1,352,632 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,605,901. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $147.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.32. TE Connectivity has a 12-month low of $137.61 and a 12-month high of $159.98.

TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The electronics maker reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. TE Connectivity had a return on equity of 18.82% and a net margin of 12.10%. TE Connectivity’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that TE Connectivity will post 7.96 EPS for the current year.

TE Connectivity announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the electronics maker to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TEL. Bank of America raised their target price on TE Connectivity from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of TE Connectivity from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on TE Connectivity from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of TE Connectivity from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on TE Connectivity from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $167.00.

TE Connectivity Company Profile

TE Connectivity Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells connectivity and sensor solutions in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the AsiaPacific, and the Americas. The company operates through three segments: Transportation Solutions, Industrial Solutions, and Communications Solutions.