Stifel Nicolaus Raises Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) Price Target to $55.00

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) had its target price hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Flowserve from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Flowserve from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America raised their price target on Flowserve from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Flowserve from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Flowserve from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $51.55.

Flowserve Stock Performance

FLS stock opened at $47.52 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Flowserve has a 12-month low of $32.49 and a 12-month high of $49.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a PE ratio of 26.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.42.

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.11. Flowserve had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 5.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Flowserve will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowserve Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Flowserve’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. Flowserve’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowserve

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FLS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Flowserve in the 4th quarter worth about $59,261,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new stake in Flowserve during the third quarter worth approximately $29,745,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Flowserve during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $22,321,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Flowserve by 270.4% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 636,509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,314,000 after purchasing an additional 464,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pantechnicon Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Flowserve in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $17,976,000. Institutional investors own 93.93% of the company’s stock.

About Flowserve

Flowserve Corporation designs, manufactures, distributes, and services industrial flow management equipment in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates through Flowserve Pump Division (FPD) and Flow Control Division (FCD) segments. The FPD segment offers custom and pre-configured pumps and pump systems, mechanical seals, auxiliary systems, replacement parts, upgrades, and related aftermarket services; and equipment services, including installation and commissioning services, seal systems spare parts, repairs, advanced diagnostics, re-rate and upgrade solutions, retrofit programs, and machining and asset management solutions, as well as manufactures a gas-lubricated mechanical seal for use in high-speed compressors for gas pipelines and in the oil and gas production and process markets.