Short Interest in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Decreases By 22.4%

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) saw a significant drop in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,560,000 shares, a drop of 22.4% from the January 15th total of 2,010,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 299,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.2 days. Approximately 4.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FDS. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in FactSet Research Systems during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in FactSet Research Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in FactSet Research Systems in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 137 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 581.8% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $373.00 to $409.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $469.00 to $493.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $485.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $521.00 to $518.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $503.00 price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Friday, December 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FactSet Research Systems has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $453.23.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance

FactSet Research Systems stock opened at $456.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $471.71 and its 200 day moving average is $457.64. FactSet Research Systems has a 1-year low of $391.84 and a 1-year high of $499.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.77.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $4.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.25 by $0.12. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 24.16%. The company had revenue of $568.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $565.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.12 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.21 EPS for the current year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.82%.

About FactSet Research Systems

FactSet Research Systems Inc, a financial data company, provides integrated financial information and analytical applications to the investment community in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company delivers insight and information through the workflow solutions of research, analytics and trading, content and technology solutions, and wealth.