Short Interest in DXP Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:DXPE) Drops By 14.7%

DXP Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:DXPE) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 454,200 shares, a decline of 14.7% from the March 15th total of 532,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 231,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Approximately 3.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on DXPE shares. Stephens lifted their price target on DXP Enterprises from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of DXP Enterprises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David R. Little acquired 5,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $82.70 per share, for a total transaction of $496,117.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,257,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,002,941.10. This represents a 0.48 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Timothy P. Halter sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total transaction of $448,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,121,768.75. The trade was a 9.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,785 shares of company stock worth $1,139,818 in the last quarter. Insiders own 22.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On DXP Enterprises

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in DXP Enterprises by 355.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 23,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,267,000 after buying an additional 18,514 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in DXP Enterprises by 193.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 98,044 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,232,000 after purchasing an additional 64,611 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in DXP Enterprises by 96.2% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 26,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,157,000 after purchasing an additional 12,800 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in DXP Enterprises in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,037,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of DXP Enterprises during the 4th quarter worth approximately $447,000. Institutional investors own 74.82% of the company’s stock.

DXP Enterprises Stock Performance

DXP Enterprises stock opened at $80.80 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.82 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day moving average of $85.27 and a 200-day moving average of $79.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.78. DXP Enterprises has a 1 year low of $43.25 and a 1 year high of $107.06.

DXP Enterprises (NASDAQ:DXPE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.49. DXP Enterprises had a net margin of 3.75% and a return on equity of 18.74%. The business had revenue of $470.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.00 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that DXP Enterprises will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

About DXP Enterprises

DXP Enterprises, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in distributing maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) products, equipment, and services in the United States and Canada. It operates through three segments: Service Centers (SC), Supply Chain Services (SCS), and Innovative Pumping Solutions (IPS).