Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Short Interest Update

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,150,000 shares, an increase of 9.8% from the November 30th total of 2,870,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,750,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $134.34 on Thursday. Agilent Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $124.16 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35. The firm has a market cap of $38.37 billion, a PE ratio of 30.39, a P/E/G ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s fifty day moving average is $135.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.248 dividend. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on A. Barclays lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.62.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. 87.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Agilent Technologies Company Profile

Agilent Technologies, Inc provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Life Sciences and Applied Markets, Diagnostics and Genomics, and Agilent CrossLab. The Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment offers liquid chromatography systems and components; liquid chromatography mass spectrometry systems; gas chromatography systems and components; gas chromatography mass spectrometry systems; inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry instruments; atomic absorption instruments; microwave plasma-atomic emission spectrometry instruments; inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry instruments; raman spectroscopy; cell analysis plate based assays; flow cytometer; real-time cell analyzer; cell imaging systems; microplate reader; laboratory software; information management and analytics; laboratory automation and robotic systems; dissolution testing; and vacuum pumps, and measurement technologies.