ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM) Short Interest Down 6.3% in January

ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,630,000 shares, a drop of 6.3% from the January 15th total of 1,740,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 337,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.8 days. Currently, 2.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, UBS Group increased their price target on ABM Industries from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th.

ABM Industries Price Performance

ABM opened at $52.55 on Wednesday. ABM Industries has a 12-month low of $39.77 and a 12-month high of $59.78. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.59. The company has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.38, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

ABM Industries (NYSE:ABM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The business services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.03. ABM Industries had a net margin of 0.97% and a return on equity of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ABM Industries will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ABM Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.265 per share. This is a boost from ABM Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. ABM Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ABM Industries news, COO Rene Jacobsen sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.84, for a total value of $528,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 87,808 shares in the company, valued at $4,639,774.72. This trade represents a 10.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dean A. Chin sold 4,281 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.36, for a total value of $224,153.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 18,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $978,137.16. The trade was a 18.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ABM Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABM. CWM LLC lifted its position in ABM Industries by 108.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,301 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 3,284 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in ABM Industries by 20.8% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,370 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,339,000 after acquiring an additional 4,374 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in ABM Industries by 21.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 135,085 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,127,000 after acquiring an additional 24,137 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in ABM Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in ABM Industries by 34.9% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,688 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.62% of the company’s stock.

ABM Industries Company Profile

ABM Industries Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of integrated facility, infrastructure, and mobility solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates through Business & Industry, Manufacturing & Distribution, Education, Aviation, and Technical Solutions segments.