Short Interest in Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI) Increases By 456.5%

Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 32,500,000 shares, an increase of 456.5% from the February 29th total of 5,840,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 10.6 days. Approximately 23.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CMI shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Cummins from $260.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Truist Financial began coverage on Cummins in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $303.00 price target on the stock. TheStreet cut shares of Cummins from an “a-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Cummins in a report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $278.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Cummins from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $271.64.

Cummins Trading Up 1.0 %

CMI opened at $294.69 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $260.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $240.49. Cummins has a 12 month low of $203.18 and a 12 month high of $297.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Cummins (NYSE:CMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by ($0.27). Cummins had a net margin of 2.16% and a return on equity of 25.68%. The company had revenue of $8.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cummins will post 18.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cummins Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $1.68 per share. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Cummins’s dividend payout ratio is 129.73%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Daniel William Fisher acquired 562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $266.57 per share, with a total value of $149,812.34. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $284,696.76. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Sharon R. Barner sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.29, for a total value of $569,709.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 16,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,584,529.71. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel William Fisher bought 562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $266.57 per share, with a total value of $149,812.34. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $284,696.76. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 51,289 shares of company stock valued at $13,576,838 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cummins

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CMI. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Cummins during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,249,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Cummins in the fourth quarter valued at $864,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its position in Cummins by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 2,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Cummins during the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. Finally, Leo Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cummins in the 4th quarter valued at about $273,000. Institutional investors own 83.46% of the company’s stock.

Cummins Company Profile

Cummins Inc designs, manufactures, distributes, and services diesel and natural gas engines, electric and hybrid powertrains, and related components worldwide. It operates through five segments: Engine, Distribution, Components, Power Systems, and Accelera. The company offers diesel and natural gas-powered engines under the Cummins and other customer brands for the heavy and medium-duty truck, bus, recreational vehicle, light-duty automotive, construction, mining, marine, rail, oil and gas, defense, and agricultural markets; and offers parts and services, as well as remanufactured parts and engines.