ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM) Short Interest Up 22.9% in October

ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,340,000 shares, an increase of 22.9% from the September 30th total of 1,090,000 shares. Currently, 2.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 511,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Insider Transactions at ABM Industries

In related news, CFO Earl Ray Ellis sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.96, for a total transaction of $2,158,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,442,229.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of ABM Industries by 169.3% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 31,240 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,648,000 after buying an additional 19,639 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in ABM Industries by 14.1% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,781 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of ABM Industries by 2.3% during the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 17,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $900,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the period. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of ABM Industries during the third quarter worth $223,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of ABM Industries in the third quarter valued at $210,000. 91.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered ABM Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of ABM Industries from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of ABM Industries from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of ABM Industries from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th.

ABM Industries Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of ABM Industries stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $53.69. The stock had a trading volume of 312,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 564,949. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 1.14. ABM Industries has a 1 year low of $38.48 and a 1 year high of $59.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.71.

ABM Industries (NYSE:ABM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, September 6th. The business services provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.08. ABM Industries had a net margin of 1.89% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. ABM Industries’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ABM Industries will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

ABM Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. ABM Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.56%.

About ABM Industries

ABM Industries Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of integrated facility, infrastructure, and mobility solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates through Business & Industry, Manufacturing & Distribution, Education, Aviation, and Technical Solutions segments.