State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT) Short Interest Up 20.1% in January

State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 5,563,833 shares, a growth of 20.1% from the January 15th total of 4,630,851 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,541,780 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,541,780 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on STT. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of State Street from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Zacks Research cut shares of State Street from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of State Street in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on State Street from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on State Street from $168.00 to $164.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.83.

State Street Price Performance

Shares of State Street stock remained flat at $127.97 on Tuesday. 1,558,498 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,240,807. State Street has a 52 week low of $72.81 and a 52 week high of $137.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $35.74 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $130.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.15.

State Street (NYSE:STT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 16th. The asset manager reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.15. State Street had a return on equity of 13.46% and a net margin of 13.02%.The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that State Street will post 9.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

State Street Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 12th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. State Street’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.71%.

Institutional Trading of State Street

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Laird Norton Wetherby Trust Company LLC bought a new position in State Street during the fourth quarter worth about $3,815,000. Kovack Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of State Street in the fourth quarter worth about $235,000. Trexquant Investment LP raised its position in shares of State Street by 1,997.8% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 98,473 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $12,704,000 after purchasing an additional 93,779 shares during the period. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC bought a new position in shares of State Street during the 4th quarter valued at about $241,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC grew its position in shares of State Street by 37.6% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 164,388 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $21,208,000 after purchasing an additional 44,885 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

State Street Company Profile

State Street Corporation is a global financial services company that provides a range of investment servicing, investment management and investment research and trading services to institutional investors. Its principal activities include custody and fund administration, securities lending, performance and risk analytics, trading and execution services, and foreign exchange. The company also offers investment management through State Street Global Advisors, a major provider of exchange-traded funds and institutional investment strategies.

State Street serves a broad client base of asset managers, insurance companies, pension funds, endowments, and other institutions across North America, Europe, Asia and other global markets.