Short Interest in Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK) Declines By 25.1%

Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,470,000 shares, a drop of 25.1% from the October 15th total of 4,630,000 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Institutional Trading of Stanley Black & Decker

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SWK. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Stanley Black & Decker by 99.3% during the third quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Stanley Black & Decker during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Stanley Black & Decker by 81.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stanley Black & Decker in the second quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stanley Black & Decker during the third quarter worth $59,000. 87.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on SWK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Stanley Black & Decker from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Stanley Black & Decker from $94.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Stanley Black & Decker from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Stanley Black & Decker from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Stanley Black & Decker from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Stanley Black & Decker currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.29.

Stanley Black & Decker Stock Performance

Stanley Black & Decker stock opened at $85.82 on Friday. Stanley Black & Decker has a 12-month low of $77.70 and a 12-month high of $110.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.88.

Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE:SWK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.17. Stanley Black & Decker had a negative net margin of 1.33% and a positive return on equity of 6.44%. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. Stanley Black & Decker’s revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Stanley Black & Decker will post 4.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stanley Black & Decker Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. Stanley Black & Decker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -239.42%.

About Stanley Black & Decker

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.