Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) Short Interest Down 35.2% in December

by · The Cerbat Gem

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS – Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,738,330 shares, a drop of 35.2% from the December 15th total of 2,684,026 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 969,514 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 969,514 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NTRS shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northern Trust in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Northern Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Northern Trust from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $148.00 price target on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $136.00.

View Our Latest Report on NTRS

Northern Trust Stock Performance

NTRS traded down $1.53 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $145.57. 1,222,277 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 819,693. The stock has a market cap of $27.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. Northern Trust has a 12 month low of $81.62 and a 12 month high of $148.98.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.03. Northern Trust had a net margin of 11.99% and a return on equity of 14.37%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Northern Trust will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Northern Trust’s payout ratio is presently 37.30%.

Insider Activity at Northern Trust

In other news, insider John Landers sold 766 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.35, for a total transaction of $95,252.10. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $909,371.55. The trade was a 9.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Susan Cohen Levy sold 27,591 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.13, for a total transaction of $3,535,234.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 48,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,183,169.41. The trade was a 36.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in Northern Trust during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northern Trust by 5,225.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 213 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC lifted its position in Northern Trust by 87.4% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 208 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Northern Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

About Northern Trust

(Get Free Report)

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ: NTRS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in Chicago that provides asset servicing, asset management and wealth management solutions to institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals. The company’s core businesses include custody and fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, trust and fiduciary services, private banking, and retirement and defined contribution plan services.

Northern Trust’s product and service offerings span custody and fund accounting, portfolio and performance analytics, securities lending, cash management and foreign exchange, as well as discretionary and non-discretionary investment management.

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