Varenne Capital Partners Acquires New Shares in Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS)

Varenne Capital Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Flowserve Co. (NYSE:FLS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 455,777 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,216,000. Flowserve accounts for approximately 7.7% of Varenne Capital Partners’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Varenne Capital Partners owned approximately 0.35% of Flowserve at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Flowserve in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Flowserve during the third quarter worth $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Flowserve by 64.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 711 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Flowserve during the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Flowserve by 185.9% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the period. 93.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Flowserve Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of FLS stock opened at $48.72 on Friday. Flowserve Co. has a one year low of $43.66 and a one year high of $65.08. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $56.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.43.

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.07). Flowserve had a net margin of 6.20% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Flowserve Co. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowserve Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Flowserve’s payout ratio is 39.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FLS has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Flowserve from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Flowserve from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $71.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Flowserve from $73.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Flowserve from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Flowserve from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.60.

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.