Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Pentair plc (NYSE:PNR) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $107.8571.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PNR shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Pentair from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $110.00 target price on shares of Pentair in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price target (down from $135.00) on shares of Pentair in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Pentair from $107.00 to $101.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Pentair from $122.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th.

Pentair Stock Performance

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

Pentair (NYSE:PNR) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Pentair had a net margin of 15.98% and a return on equity of 21.92%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. Pentair’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Pentair will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pentair Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 24th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Pentair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pentair

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PNR. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Pentair by 71.4% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in Pentair in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Pentair in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Pentair in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pentair by 502.8% during the fourth quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 434 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.37% of the company’s stock.

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.