Share Repurchase Plan Initiated by Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) Board

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 16th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Otis Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE OTIS opened at $94.76 on Friday. Otis Worldwide has a 52-week low of $85.61 and a 52-week high of $106.33. The stock has a market cap of $37.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.63 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $96.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.27.

Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.01). Otis Worldwide had a net margin of 11.48% and a negative return on equity of 31.28%. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. Otis Worldwide’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Otis Worldwide will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Otis Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Otis Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on OTIS. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Otis Worldwide from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Otis Worldwide from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Otis Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $113.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Otis Worldwide from $112.00 to $108.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Otis Worldwide from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Abbe Luersman sold 9,000 shares of Otis Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.02, for a total transaction of $909,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,009,391.84. This trade represents a 47.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Otis Worldwide Company Profile

Otis Worldwide Corporation engages in manufacturing, installation, and servicing of elevators and escalators in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, New Equipment and Service. The New Equipment segment designs, manufactures, sells, and installs a range of passenger and freight elevators, as well as escalators and moving walkways for residential and commercial buildings, and infrastructure projects.