Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,120,000 shares, an increase of 8.5% from the December 15th total of 5,640,000 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 845,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.2 days.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE ITW traded up $0.57 during trading on Monday, reaching $256.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 844,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 768,759. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $75.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.11. Illinois Tool Works has a twelve month low of $232.77 and a twelve month high of $279.13. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $264.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $255.73.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 97.06%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.90%.

Institutional Trading of Illinois Tool Works

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nikulski Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 1,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 2.5% during the third quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 1,614 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 0.9% during the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 4,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,216,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 1.1% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $957,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC increased its position in Illinois Tool Works by 2.7% during the third quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ITW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Illinois Tool Works from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $262.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $270.11.

Illinois Tool Works Company Profile

Illinois Tool Works Inc manufactures and sells industrial products and equipment in the United States and internationally. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products.