Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) Price Target Raised to $55.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) had its price objective hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $53.00 to $55.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Flowserve from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Saturday, April 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Flowserve from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Flowserve from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Flowserve from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Flowserve from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $51.55.

Flowserve Stock Performance

Shares of FLS stock opened at $47.52 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $45.45 and its 200 day moving average is $41.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.85, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.42. Flowserve has a 12 month low of $32.49 and a 12 month high of $49.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.11. Flowserve had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 5.29%. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Flowserve will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowserve Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a boost from Flowserve’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. Flowserve’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flowserve

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Flowserve in the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,261,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Flowserve during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,745,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Flowserve in the 4th quarter worth $22,321,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Flowserve by 270.4% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 636,509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,314,000 after acquiring an additional 464,667 shares during the period. Finally, Pantechnicon Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Flowserve during the third quarter valued at about $17,976,000. 93.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Flowserve

Flowserve Corporation designs, manufactures, distributes, and services industrial flow management equipment in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates through Flowserve Pump Division (FPD) and Flow Control Division (FCD) segments. The FPD segment offers custom and pre-configured pumps and pump systems, mechanical seals, auxiliary systems, replacement parts, upgrades, and related aftermarket services; and equipment services, including installation and commissioning services, seal systems spare parts, repairs, advanced diagnostics, re-rate and upgrade solutions, retrofit programs, and machining and asset management solutions, as well as manufactures a gas-lubricated mechanical seal for use in high-speed compressors for gas pipelines and in the oil and gas production and process markets.