Cummins (NYSE:CMI) Shares Cross Below 50 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI) shares crossed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $358.36 and traded as low as $347.41. Cummins shares last traded at $348.60, with a volume of 318,008 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CMI. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Cummins from $324.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Cummins from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Cummins from $410.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Cummins from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Cummins from $330.00 to $372.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cummins presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $356.92.

Cummins Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $48.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $358.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $321.04.

Cummins (NYSE:CMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $5.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.89 by $0.97. The business had revenue of $8.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.29 billion. Cummins had a net margin of 6.13% and a return on equity of 26.86%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.73 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cummins Inc. will post 20.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Cummins Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $1.82 per share. This represents a $7.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Cummins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.08%.

Insider Activity at Cummins

In other news, VP Sharon R. Barner sold 2,163 shares of Cummins stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $362.49, for a total value of $784,065.87. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,540,879.47. The trade was a 9.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 6,489 shares of company stock valued at $2,357,531 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cummins

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cummins during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cummins in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cummins during the 2nd quarter worth about $55,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Cummins during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Cummins during the second quarter valued at approximately $67,000. 83.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.