Short Interest in FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Grows By 45.5%
by Tristan Rich · The Markets DailyFactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS – Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 3,345,204 shares, a growth of 45.5% from the January 29th total of 2,299,198 shares. Currently, 9.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,594,725 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,594,725 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 9.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, Director Laurie Siegel sold 2,572 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.25, for a total value of $761,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,037 shares in the company, valued at $307,211.25. The trade was a 71.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Malcolm Frank sold 2,572 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.70, for a total value of $760,540.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $259,920.30. The trade was a 74.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Institutional Trading of FactSet Research Systems
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDS. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 444,058.1% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 13,857,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,021,376,000 after buying an additional 13,854,613 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 2.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,932,382 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,413,078,000 after acquiring an additional 107,184 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY boosted its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 58.8% during the fourth quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 2,888,845 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $838,314,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069,786 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in FactSet Research Systems by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,961,231 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $561,873,000 after acquiring an additional 23,660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in FactSet Research Systems by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,508,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $674,522,000 after acquiring an additional 23,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.24% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Huber Research upgraded FactSet Research Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on FactSet Research Systems from $282.00 to $253.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $372.00 to $295.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Friday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $291.62.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on FDS
FactSet Research Systems Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE FDS traded up $2.84 during trading on Friday, hitting $217.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,208,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,319,298. FactSet Research Systems has a 12 month low of $185.00 and a 12 month high of $474.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $254.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $287.84.
FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The business services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.36 by $0.15. FactSet Research Systems had a return on equity of 30.49% and a net margin of 25.40%.The company had revenue of $607.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $599.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. FactSet Research Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.900-17.600 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current year.
FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. FactSet Research Systems’s payout ratio is 27.99%.
FactSet Research Systems declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 18th that allows the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
FactSet Research Systems Company Profile
FactSet Research Systems Inc operates as a global provider of integrated financial data and analytics to the investment community. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, the company offers a unified platform that aggregates content from thousands of sources, delivering real-time and historical market data, company fundamentals, estimates, fixed-income information and proprietary analytics to portfolio managers, research analysts, investment bankers and risk officers.
The company’s core products include the FactSet Workstation, an application offering customizable screening, charting, portfolio analysis and news; APIs and data feeds for seamless integration into proprietary systems; and cloud-based solutions for thematic research and quantitative strategies.