Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $63.10, but opened at $57.68. Flowserve shares last traded at $58.31, with a volume of 488,665 shares.

The industrial products company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. Flowserve had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 17.10%.

Flowserve Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Flowserve’s payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FLS. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Flowserve from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $57.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Flowserve from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Flowserve from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Flowserve from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Flowserve from $73.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Flowserve currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowserve

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FIL Ltd raised its position in shares of Flowserve by 71.7% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,255,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $302,271,000 after acquiring an additional 2,193,904 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Flowserve during the fourth quarter worth $94,629,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Flowserve by 307.1% in the fourth quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,888,917 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $108,651,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424,948 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Flowserve by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,068,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $118,953,000 after buying an additional 714,063 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Flowserve by 197.6% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 913,268 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,207,000 after buying an additional 606,416 shares during the last quarter. 93.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Flowserve Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.99. The company has a market capitalization of $7.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $60.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.55.

About Flowserve

Flowserve Corporation designs, manufactures, distributes, and services industrial flow management equipment in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates through Flowserve Pump Division (FPD) and Flow Control Division (FCD) segments. The FPD segment offers custom and pre-configured pumps and pump systems, mechanical seals, auxiliary systems, replacement parts, upgrades, and related aftermarket services; and equipment services, including installation and commissioning services, seal systems spare parts, repairs, advanced diagnostics, re-rate and upgrade solutions, retrofit programs, and machining and asset management solutions, as well as manufactures a gas-lubricated mechanical seal for use in high-speed compressors for gas pipelines and in the oil and gas production and process markets.