Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Shares in Gorman-Rupp Company (The) $GRC

Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Gorman-Rupp Company (The) (NYSE:GRC) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 14,853 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $923,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GRC. Huntington National Bank acquired a new position in Gorman-Rupp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Gorman-Rupp by 130.7% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 669 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gorman-Rupp by 125.0% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 939 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Gorman-Rupp by 135.2% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Gorman-Rupp by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,461 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. 59.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Gorman-Rupp to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Gorman-Rupp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings cut Gorman-Rupp from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Gorman-Rupp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gorman-Rupp currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Gorman-Rupp Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GRC opened at $81.55 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $81.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.47. The firm has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Gorman-Rupp Company has a 1-year low of $39.64 and a 1-year high of $92.78.

Gorman-Rupp (NYSE:GRC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $186.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.89 million. Gorman-Rupp had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 8.88%. Research analysts predict that Gorman-Rupp Company will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gorman-Rupp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Gorman-Rupp’s payout ratio is presently 32.07%.

About Gorman-Rupp

Gorman-Rupp Company is a U.S.-based manufacturer specializing in the design, production and distribution of pumps and pumping systems. Its product lineup includes centrifugal self-priming pumps, submersible pumps, vacuum priming pumps and engineered pumps for applications such as water and wastewater management, sewage handling, dewatering, industrial processing and agricultural irrigation. The company supports both standard pump requirements and custom engineered solutions for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and municipal clients.

Headquartered in Mansfield, Ohio, Gorman-Rupp has built a reputation for rugged, reliable equipment and aftermarket support services.