Dana Incorporated (NYSE:DAN) Short Interest Up 8.9% in December

Dana Incorporated (NYSE:DAN) saw a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,880,000 shares, a growth of 8.9% from the November 30th total of 4,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,380,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 3.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Dana Price Performance

NYSE DAN traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $11.56. 1,528,119 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,511,340. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $10.28 and a 200-day moving average of $10.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. Dana has a one year low of $7.58 and a one year high of $14.89. The stock has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of -105.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 2.36.

Dana (NYSE:DAN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The auto parts company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $2.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.57 billion. Dana had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 3.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Dana will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dana Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. Dana’s payout ratio is presently -363.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dana

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in Dana in the third quarter valued at about $2,687,000. JB Capital Partners LP raised its position in Dana by 9.9% during the third quarter. JB Capital Partners LP now owns 1,425,293 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $14,880,000 after acquiring an additional 128,000 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Dana by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 426,586 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $5,170,000 after purchasing an additional 5,468 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Dana during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $250,000. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P bought a new position in shares of Dana in the third quarter valued at about $346,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Dana from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $9.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays upgraded shares of Dana from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $12.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. BNP Paribas upgraded Dana from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $9.00 to $16.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Dana in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Dana from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.29.

About Dana

Dana Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, provides power-conveyance and energy-management solutions for vehicles and machinery in North America, Europe, South America, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through four segments: Light Vehicle Drive Systems, Commercial Vehicle Drive and Motion Systems, Off-Highway Drive and Motion Systems, and Power Technologies.