AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON) saw a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,330,000 shares, an increase of 48.4% from the January 31st total of 1,570,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 586,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days.

AAON Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAON opened at $75.25 on Wednesday. AAON has a 1-year low of $69.52 and a 1-year high of $144.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.06 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The stock has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.15 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $115.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.26.

AAON announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, March 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $30.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to purchase up to 0.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAON has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of AAON from $155.00 to $116.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of AAON from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of AAON from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, CJS Securities raised AAON from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AAON currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AAON news, VP Stephen E. Wakefield sold 5,362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.99, for a total transaction of $702,368.38. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,558 shares in the company, valued at $597,052.42. This represents a 54.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Rebecca Thompson sold 5,000 shares of AAON stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.00, for a total value of $690,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,386,986. The trade was a 22.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAON. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AAON in the fourth quarter valued at about $76,581,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in AAON in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $73,313,000. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in AAON by 39.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,866,746 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $201,310,000 after purchasing an additional 525,132 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of AAON by 85.6% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,069,112 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $125,813,000 after buying an additional 493,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of AAON in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,449,000. 70.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AAON

AAON, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and selling air conditioning and heating equipment in the United States and Canada. The company operates through three segments: AAON Oklahoma, AAON Coil Products, and BASX. It offers rooftop units, data center cooling solutions, cleanroom systems, chillers, packaged outdoor mechanical rooms, air handling units, makeup air units, energy recovery units, condensing units, geothermal/water-source heat pumps, coils, and controls.