The Gorman-Rupp Company (NYSE:GRC) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

The Gorman-Rupp Company (NYSE:GRC) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 128,700 shares, a decrease of 21.5% from the February 13th total of 164,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 65,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Gorman-Rupp Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE GRC traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $37.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 79,801. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.80. Gorman-Rupp has a twelve month low of $30.47 and a twelve month high of $43.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $972.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.22, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.94.

Gorman-Rupp (NYSE:GRC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.03). Gorman-Rupp had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 12.79%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.34 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Gorman-Rupp will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Gorman-Rupp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.185 dividend. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Gorman-Rupp’s payout ratio is currently 48.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gorman-Rupp

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Gorman-Rupp by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,205,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $83,614,000 after acquiring an additional 20,407 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Gorman-Rupp by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,345,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $51,020,000 after purchasing an additional 3,574 shares during the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Gorman-Rupp by 105.7% during the third quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 1,012,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,450,000 after buying an additional 520,361 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Gorman-Rupp by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 703,077 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,661,000 after purchasing an additional 38,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Gorman-Rupp by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 223,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,463,000 after purchasing an additional 23,158 shares during the last quarter. 59.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Gorman-Rupp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th.

About Gorman-Rupp

The Gorman-Rupp Company designs, manufactures, and sells pumps and pump systems in the United States and internationally. The company’s products include self-priming centrifugal, standard centrifugal, magnetic drive centrifugal, axial and mixed flow, vertical turbine line shaft, submersible, high-pressure booster, rotary gear, diaphragm, bellows, and oscillating pumps.