Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) Short Interest Up 8.5% in December

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,120,000 shares, a growth of 8.5% from the December 15th total of 5,640,000 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 845,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ITW. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $312.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays cut their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $262.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Illinois Tool Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $270.11.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

Shares of ITW stock opened at $256.50 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Illinois Tool Works has a one year low of $232.77 and a one year high of $279.13. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $264.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $255.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.74 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.11.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a net margin of 21.66% and a return on equity of 97.06%. Illinois Tool Works’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Illinois Tool Works’s payout ratio is 51.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Illinois Tool Works

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Illinois Tool Works during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1,060.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Ulland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Illinois Tool Works

Illinois Tool Works Inc manufactures and sells industrial products and equipment in the United States and internationally. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products.