Espey Mfg. & Electronics Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:ESP) Short Interest Down 12.6% in February

Espey Mfg. & Electronics Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:ESP) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 4,159 shares, a decrease of 12.6% from the February 12th total of 4,759 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 24,603 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.2 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 24,603 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.2 days. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Activity at Espey Mfg. & Electronics

In related news, CEO David A. Oneil sold 8,856 shares of Espey Mfg. & Electronics stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $442,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 16,250 shares in the company, valued at $812,500. This trade represents a 35.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael W. Wool sold 1,000 shares of Espey Mfg. & Electronics stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.90, for a total transaction of $57,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,007,460. This trade represents a 5.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 17,498 shares of company stock worth $906,252. 5.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ESP. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Espey Mfg. & Electronics by 15.9% in the second quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Heron Bay Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Espey Mfg. & Electronics in the 2nd quarter valued at $274,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Espey Mfg. & Electronics by 27.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 11,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 2,415 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Espey Mfg. & Electronics during the 2nd quarter worth about $591,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Espey Mfg. & Electronics by 356.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 962 shares in the last quarter. 36.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Freedom Capital upgraded Espey Mfg. & Electronics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Espey Mfg. & Electronics currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”.

Espey Mfg. & Electronics Stock Up 1.1%

NYSEAMERICAN ESP traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $56.39. The company had a trading volume of 7,217 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,455. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.38. The stock has a market cap of $166.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44 and a beta of 0.15. Espey Mfg. & Electronics has a fifty-two week low of $24.85 and a fifty-two week high of $62.15.

Espey Mfg. & Electronics (NYSEAMERICAN:ESP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.23. Espey Mfg. & Electronics had a net margin of 23.37% and a return on equity of 19.09%. The business had revenue of $12.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.40 million.

Espey Mfg. & Electronics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 20th. Espey Mfg. & Electronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.82%.

Espey Mfg. & Electronics Company Profile

Espey Manufacturing & Electronics Corp., founded in 1961 and headquartered in Lowell, Massachusetts, specializes in the design, development and manufacture of precision electronic components and sensor systems. The company’s core product offerings include magnetostrictive transducers, torque and position sensors, wideband RF and microwave amplifiers, as well as high-reliability printed circuit boards and molded bus assemblies. These solutions are engineered to withstand harsh operating environments and meet stringent performance requirements.

Espey’s sensor technologies are employed in applications ranging from industrial automation and energy production to commercial and military aerospace platforms.