Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 32,500,000 shares, an increase of 456.5% from the February 29th total of 5,840,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 10.6 days. Approximately 23.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Cummins Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE CMI opened at $294.69 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $260.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $240.49. The stock has a market cap of $41.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.89, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.03. Cummins has a twelve month low of $203.18 and a twelve month high of $297.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Cummins (NYSE:CMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.41 by ($0.27). Cummins had a net margin of 2.16% and a return on equity of 25.68%. The business had revenue of $8.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Cummins will post 18.36 EPS for the current year.

Cummins Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $1.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. Cummins’s payout ratio is 129.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CMI shares. TheStreet downgraded Cummins from an “a-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Cummins from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group upgraded shares of Cummins from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $254.00 to $321.00 in a research note on Friday, March 15th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Cummins from $260.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Cummins from $265.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $271.64.

Insider Activity

In other Cummins news, SVP Tony Satterthwaite sold 37,450 shares of Cummins stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.05, for a total value of $9,926,122.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 73,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,545,052.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Tony Satterthwaite sold 37,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.05, for a total value of $9,926,122.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 73,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,545,052.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sharon R. Barner sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.16, for a total transaction of $2,883,760.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,685,847.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 51,289 shares of company stock worth $13,576,838. Company insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Cummins during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Cummins during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Cummins in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated bought a new position in Cummins in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates acquired a new position in Cummins during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.46% of the company’s stock.

About Cummins

Cummins Inc designs, manufactures, distributes, and services diesel and natural gas engines, electric and hybrid powertrains, and related components worldwide. It operates through five segments: Engine, Distribution, Components, Power Systems, and Accelera. The company offers diesel and natural gas-powered engines under the Cummins and other customer brands for the heavy and medium-duty truck, bus, recreational vehicle, light-duty automotive, construction, mining, marine, rail, oil and gas, defense, and agricultural markets; and offers parts and services, as well as remanufactured parts and engines.