Short Interest in Tennant Company (NYSE:TNC) Grows By 35.0%

Tennant Company (NYSE:TNC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 911,478 shares, an increase of 35.0% from the March 15th total of 675,102 shares. Approximately 5.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 355,933 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on TNC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Tennant in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Tennant from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Freedom Capital cut Tennant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Zacks Research cut Tennant from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $91.00 price target (down from $107.00) on shares of Tennant in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Tennant presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David W. Huml purchased 4,000 shares of Tennant stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $64.39 per share, for a total transaction of $257,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 67,958 shares in the company, valued at $4,375,815.62. The trade was a 6.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Donal L. Mulligan purchased 3,000 shares of Tennant stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $61.61 per share, with a total value of $184,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $492,880. This represents a 60.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 20,163 shares of company stock valued at $1,261,674. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tennant

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in Tennant during the third quarter worth $28,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Tennant by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 385 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tennant in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Tennant by 1,778.6% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 526 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Tennant in the 2nd quarter valued at $73,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.33% of the company’s stock.

Tennant Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE TNC traded up $0.58 on Friday, reaching $78.84. 100,705 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 231,928. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $70.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Tennant has a fifty-two week low of $60.17 and a fifty-two week high of $85.90.

Tennant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Tennant’s payout ratio is 52.99%.

About Tennant

Tennant Company is a global provider of solutions that help keep facilities clean, safe and sustainable. The company designs, manufactures and markets a broad range of cleaning machines, chemicals and service programs that address the cleaning needs of customers in diverse industries, including manufacturing, warehousing, food and beverage, healthcare and education. Tennant’s product portfolio encompasses both ride-on and walk-behind floor scrubbers and sweepers, carpet extractors, power brushes, pressure washers and autonomous cleaning machines.

Founded in 1870 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Tennant has grown from a regional manufacturer into a multinational organization with operations in more than 70 countries and sales representation in over 100 markets worldwide.