Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE:TAP) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE:TAP) was the target of a large growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,220,000 shares, a growth of 27.3% from the October 31st total of 7,240,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,900,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.9 days. Approximately 5.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Molson Coors Beverage

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TAP. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Molson Coors Beverage during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Molson Coors Beverage in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Molson Coors Beverage in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its holdings in Molson Coors Beverage by 83.8% during the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Molson Coors Beverage in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.46% of the company’s stock.

Molson Coors Beverage Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of TAP traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $62.06. The company had a trading volume of 988,154 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,910,897. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $57.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.57. Molson Coors Beverage has a 52-week low of $49.19 and a 52-week high of $69.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE:TAP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.13. Molson Coors Beverage had a return on equity of 9.24% and a net margin of 6.78%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.92 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Molson Coors Beverage will post 5.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Molson Coors Beverage Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. Molson Coors Beverage’s payout ratio is 39.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TAP. UBS Group lifted their price target on Molson Coors Beverage from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Molson Coors Beverage from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Molson Coors Beverage from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Molson Coors Beverage from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Molson Coors Beverage from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.57.

About Molson Coors Beverage

Molson Coors Beverage Company manufactures, markets, and sells beer and other malt beverage products under various brands in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers flavored malt beverages including hard seltzers, craft, spirits and energy, and ready to drink beverages.