Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $117.4667.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PNR. Barclays lowered shares of Pentair from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Pentair in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pentair from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Pentair from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $120.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Pentair from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Robert P. Fishman sold 7,786 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.42, for a total transaction of $820,800.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 63,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,658,748.88. This trade represents a 10.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director T Michael Glenn sold 6,558 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.33, for a total transaction of $684,196.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 31,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,254,261.36. This represents a 17.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pentair

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sigma Planning Corp raised its holdings in Pentair by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 7,338 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Pentair by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 141,982 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,786,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pentair by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 5,098 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $531,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Pentair in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Pentair by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 31,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,282,000 after purchasing an additional 2,462 shares during the last quarter. 92.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pentair Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Pentair stock opened at $105.37 on Monday. Pentair has a 1 year low of $74.25 and a 1 year high of $113.95. The company has a market cap of $17.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $105.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.59.

Pentair Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 6th. Investors of record on Friday, January 23rd will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 23rd. This is a positive change from Pentair’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Pentair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.41%.

About Pentair

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.