Short Interest in Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK) Declines By 19.2%

Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,000,000 shares, a decrease of 19.2% from the November 30th total of 4,950,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,630,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 2.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Stanley Black & Decker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Stanley Black & Decker from $107.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Stanley Black & Decker from $94.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays upped their target price on Stanley Black & Decker from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Stanley Black & Decker from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stanley Black & Decker

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SWK. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Stanley Black & Decker by 3.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 177,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,504,000 after purchasing an additional 5,493 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Stanley Black & Decker by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 168,099 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,298,000 after acquiring an additional 18,776 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp purchased a new position in Stanley Black & Decker during the 3rd quarter valued at about $307,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Stanley Black & Decker during the third quarter worth about $602,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Stanley Black & Decker during the third quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.77% of the company’s stock.

Stanley Black & Decker Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:SWK traded down $0.75 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $79.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 801,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,469,424. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -58.27, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 1.29. Stanley Black & Decker has a 1 year low of $77.70 and a 1 year high of $110.88.

Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE:SWK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. Stanley Black & Decker had a negative net margin of 1.33% and a positive return on equity of 6.44%. The company’s revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. Research analysts expect that Stanley Black & Decker will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stanley Black & Decker Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. Stanley Black & Decker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -239.42%.

Stanley Black & Decker Company Profile

Stanley Black & Decker, Inc provides hand tools, power tools, outdoor products, and related accessories in the United States, Canada, Other Americas, Europe, and Asia. Its Tools & Outdoor segment offers professional grade corded and cordless electric power tools and equipment, including drills, impact wrenches and drivers, grinders, saws, routers, and sanders; pneumatic tools and fasteners, such as nail guns, nails, staplers and staples, and concrete and masonry anchors; corded and cordless electric power tools; hand-held vacuums, paint tools, and cleaning appliances; leveling and layout tools, planes, hammers, demolition tools, clamps, vises, knives, saws, chisels, and industrial and automotive tools; drill, screwdriver, router bits, abrasives, saw blades, and threading products; tool boxes, sawhorses, medical cabinets, and engineered storage solutions; and electric and gas-powered lawn and garden products.