Gorman-Rupp (NYSE:GRC) Share Price Breaks Above Fifty Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of Gorman-Rupp Company (The) (NYSE:GRC) passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $74.28 and traded as high as $75.61. Gorman-Rupp shares last traded at $74.88, with a volume of 135,335 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GRC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Gorman-Rupp in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Zacks Research lowered Gorman-Rupp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gorman-Rupp from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Gorman-Rupp Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 2.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $74.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.55. The stock has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.28.

Gorman-Rupp (NYSE:GRC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.16. Gorman-Rupp had a net margin of 10.20% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The company had revenue of $193.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $181.55 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Gorman-Rupp Company will post 2.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gorman-Rupp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. This is an increase from Gorman-Rupp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Gorman-Rupp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP D. Patrick Wischmeier sold 5,153 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total value of $399,975.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,366.58. The trade was a 78.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 11.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gorman-Rupp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Amundi increased its holdings in Gorman-Rupp by 14.4% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 140,446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,885,000 after buying an additional 17,722 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gorman-Rupp in the first quarter worth about $923,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Gorman-Rupp by 326.1% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 524,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,581,000 after acquiring an additional 401,340 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Gorman-Rupp by 1,056.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 302,230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,778,000 after acquiring an additional 276,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Gorman-Rupp during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,154,000. 59.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Gorman-Rupp

Gorman-Rupp Co designs, manufactures and sells pumps and pumping systems for moving water and other liquids. Its product portfolio includes self-priming centrifugal pumps, standard centrifugal pumps, submersible pumps, rotary gear pumps, diaphragm pumps and related pumping equipment.

The company serves a range of markets, including municipal water and wastewater treatment, construction, agriculture, industrial operations, petroleum, fire protection and emergency services. Its products are used in applications such as sewage handling, flood control, dewatering, irrigation and general fluid transfer.

Founded in 1933 by J.C.