Dana Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:DAN)

Dana Incorporated (NYSE:DAN) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 3,947 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 286% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,022 put options.

Dana Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of DAN stock opened at $13.71 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.15, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.42. Dana has a fifty-two week low of $7.58 and a fifty-two week high of $16.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Dana (NYSE:DAN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The auto parts company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.33 billion. Dana had a negative net margin of 0.55% and a positive return on equity of 6.70%. Research analysts forecast that Dana will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Dana Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Dana’s dividend payout ratio is presently -102.56%.

Institutional Trading of Dana

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAN. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its stake in Dana by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 54,271 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $627,000 after acquiring an additional 3,368 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Dana by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 79,026 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $914,000 after purchasing an additional 4,531 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Dana by 829.3% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 4,182 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 3,732 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Dana by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 936,143 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $10,822,000 after buying an additional 17,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JB Capital Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Dana by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. JB Capital Partners LP now owns 1,832,293 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $21,181,000 after buying an additional 407,000 shares during the last quarter. 96.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on DAN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Dana from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $9.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Dana from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Dana from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Dana from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $16.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Dana from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.50.

About Dana

Dana Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, provides power-conveyance and energy-management solutions for vehicles and machinery in North America, Europe, South America, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through four segments: Light Vehicle Drive Systems, Commercial Vehicle Drive and Motion Systems, Off-Highway Drive and Motion Systems, and Power Technologies.