Short Interest in Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV) Rises By 22.2%

Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,090,000 shares, an increase of 22.2% from the February 13th total of 1,710,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 865,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on DOV. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Dover from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Dover from $208.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of Dover in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Dover from $202.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Dover from $205.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.91.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dover

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DOV. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Dover during the fourth quarter worth about $316,228,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Dover in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $99,017,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Dover by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 2,182,995 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $409,530,000 after acquiring an additional 524,092 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in Dover by 352.9% in the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 385,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,260,000 after purchasing an additional 300,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Dover by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,726,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $323,896,000 after purchasing an additional 245,535 shares during the last quarter. 84.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dover Price Performance

DOV stock opened at $182.27 on Thursday. Dover has a 1 year low of $168.20 and a 1 year high of $222.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.01 billion, a PE ratio of 9.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $194.78 and its 200-day moving average is $193.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.52.

Dover (NYSE:DOV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20. Dover had a net margin of 32.95% and a return on equity of 21.03%. Equities research analysts expect that Dover will post 9.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dover Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Dover’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.59%.

About Dover

Dover Corporation provides equipment and components, consumable supplies, aftermarket parts, software and digital solutions, and support services worldwide. The company's Engineered Products segment provides various equipment, component, software, solution, and services that are used in vehicle aftermarket, waste handling, industrial automation, aerospace and defense, industrial winch and hoist, and fluid dispensing end-market.