Short Interest in Oshkosh Co. (NYSE:OSK) Decreases By 26.2%

Oshkosh Co. (NYSE:OSK) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,210,000 shares, a drop of 26.2% from the March 31st total of 1,640,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 519,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on OSK. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Oshkosh from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Oshkosh from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Oshkosh from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. TheStreet upgraded Oshkosh from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Oshkosh from $117.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Oshkosh has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.50.

Oshkosh Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:OSK opened at $117.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.43. Oshkosh has a 52 week low of $72.09 and a 52 week high of $127.98. The firm has a market cap of $7.71 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $117.49 and its 200-day moving average is $107.07.

Oshkosh (NYSE:OSK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.63. Oshkosh had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 6.93%. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.59 EPS. Oshkosh’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Oshkosh will post 11.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Oshkosh Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Oshkosh’s payout ratio is presently 17.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Anupam Khare sold 4,234 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.38, for a total transaction of $471,582.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,503,518.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oshkosh

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Oshkosh by 410.6% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,848,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,384,000 after purchasing an additional 1,486,402 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Oshkosh during the fourth quarter valued at $83,524,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Oshkosh by 1,374.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 257,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,877,000 after acquiring an additional 239,707 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Oshkosh in the 4th quarter worth about $23,926,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Oshkosh by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,130,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $773,014,000 after purchasing an additional 219,375 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.36% of the company’s stock.

About Oshkosh

Oshkosh Corporation provides purpose-built vehicles and equipment worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Access, Defense, and Vocational segment. Its Access Equipment segment design and manufacture aerial work platform and telehandlers for use in construction, industrial, and maintenance applications; offers financing and leasing solutions including rental fleet loans, leases, and floor plan and retail financing; and towing and recovery equipment, which includes carriers, wreckers, and rotators, as well as provides equipment installation and sale of chassis and service parts.