Short Interest in ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM) Expands By 28.3%

ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,540,000 shares, an increase of 28.3% from the December 15th total of 1,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 378,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at ABM Industries

In related news, CAO Dean A. Chin sold 4,281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.36, for a total value of $224,153.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 18,681 shares in the company, valued at $978,137.16. This trade represents a 18.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of ABM Industries

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its holdings in ABM Industries by 694.2% during the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 86,868 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,583,000 after buying an additional 75,930 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in ABM Industries during the fourth quarter worth $392,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in ABM Industries by 51.3% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 101,006 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,329,000 after purchasing an additional 34,254 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in ABM Industries by 50.8% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 200,497 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,139,000 after purchasing an additional 67,560 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in ABM Industries by 91.8% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 82,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,331,000 after purchasing an additional 39,300 shares during the last quarter. 91.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of ABM Industries from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

ABM Industries Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of ABM stock traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $53.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 204,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 404,666. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 41.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.50. ABM Industries has a 12-month low of $39.64 and a 12-month high of $59.78.

ABM Industries (NYSE:ABM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The business services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. ABM Industries had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 0.97%. ABM Industries’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that ABM Industries will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ABM Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. This is a positive change from ABM Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. ABM Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.47%.

ABM Industries Company Profile

ABM Industries Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of integrated facility, infrastructure, and mobility solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates through Business & Industry, Manufacturing & Distribution, Education, Aviation, and Technical Solutions segments.