Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Pentair (NYSE:PNR)

Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors bought 3,133 call options on the company. This is an increase of 578% compared to the average volume of 462 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on PNR. Wall Street Zen lowered Pentair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Pentair from $110.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Pentair from $100.00 to $88.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Pentair from $122.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Pentair from $107.00 to $101.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pentair presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.86.

Pentair Stock Performance

Shares of PNR stock opened at $76.37 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.29. The company has a market cap of $12.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.03. Pentair has a 12-month low of $69.93 and a 12-month high of $113.95.

Pentair (NYSE:PNR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Pentair had a return on equity of 21.92% and a net margin of 15.98%.Pentair’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pentair will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

Pentair Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 24th. Pentair’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pentair in the second quarter valued at approximately $222,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Pentair by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $960,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Pentair by 27.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 53,959 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,539,000 after acquiring an additional 11,523 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Pentair by 54.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 76,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,850,000 after purchasing an additional 27,053 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in shares of Pentair by 101.8% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 338,368 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,737,000 after purchasing an additional 170,707 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

Pentair Company Profile

Pentair plc (NYSE: PNR) is a global provider of water treatment and fluid management solutions. The company designs, manufactures and sells a broad range of products that move, treat, monitor and control the flow of water and other fluids across residential, commercial, industrial and municipal markets. Pentair’s offerings are focused on improving water quality, conserving resources and enabling efficient fluid handling in applications from household water systems and pools to large-scale industrial and municipal installations.

Product lines include pumps and pumping systems, water filtration and purification equipment, valves and controls, heat exchangers, pool and spa systems, and a range of aftermarket parts and services.