Short Interest in Sensata Technologies Holding N.V. (NYSE:ST) Expands By 28.3%

Sensata Technologies Holding N.V. (NYSE:ST) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 6,864,907 shares, an increase of 28.3% from the February 26th total of 5,349,820 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,045,506 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Currently, 4.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ST. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Sensata Technologies from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sensata Technologies from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Sensata Technologies from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Sensata Technologies from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Sensata Technologies from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.20.

Sensata Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ST opened at $35.21 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $35.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a PE ratio of 185.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 1.78. Sensata Technologies has a 12 month low of $17.32 and a 12 month high of $39.09.

Sensata Technologies (NYSE:ST) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $917.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $911.03 million. Sensata Technologies had a return on equity of 17.92% and a net margin of 0.83%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sensata Technologies will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Sensata Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. Sensata Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 252.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lynne J. Caljouw sold 2,480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total value of $85,560.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 61,560 shares in the company, valued at $2,123,820. This represents a 3.87% 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. 0.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sensata Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Sensata Technologies by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,997,522 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $458,174,000 after purchasing an additional 346,547 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Sensata Technologies by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,289,698 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $342,544,000 after purchasing an additional 230,113 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Sensata Technologies by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,266,103 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $241,884,000 after purchasing an additional 242,865 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Sensata Technologies by 165.4% during the third quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 4,975,745 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $152,009,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its position in shares of Sensata Technologies by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 4,313,603 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $143,600,000 after buying an additional 961,457 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.42% of the company’s stock.

Sensata Technologies Company Profile

Sensata Technologies Holdings N.V. is a global industrial technology company specializing in the design, development and manufacture of sensors and electrical protection solutions. The company’s product portfolio includes pressure, temperature, position, speed, current and magnetic sensors, as well as circuit breakers and other protection devices. Sensata’s offerings serve a wide array of end markets, with a particularly strong presence in automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), industrial automation, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), commercial aerospace and renewable energy sectors.

Headquartered in Attleboro, Massachusetts, Sensata operates a network of manufacturing and engineering facilities across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America.