Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC) Short Interest Update

Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,200,000 shares, a growth of 8.4% from the November 30th total of 2,030,000 shares. Currently, 4.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 419,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on EPC shares. StockNews.com lowered Edgewell Personal Care from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $50.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.40.

Edgewell Personal Care Stock Up 0.3 %

Edgewell Personal Care stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $33.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 357,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 402,656. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $35.44 and its 200 day moving average is $37.17. Edgewell Personal Care has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.50. The company has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.14 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $517.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $535.23 million. Edgewell Personal Care had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 9.78%. Edgewell Personal Care’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Edgewell Personal Care will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Edgewell Personal Care Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Edgewell Personal Care’s payout ratio is presently 30.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Edgewell Personal Care

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new position in Edgewell Personal Care during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Edgewell Personal Care during the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Edgewell Personal Care during the second quarter valued at about $53,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Edgewell Personal Care in the second quarter valued at about $84,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 14.0% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. 91.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Edgewell Personal Care

Edgewell Personal Care Company is a manufacturer and marketer of personal care products in the wet shave, sun and skin care, feminine care and infant care categories. As of September 30, 2016, the Company had a portfolio of over 25 brands. It manages its business in four segments: Wet Shave, Sun and Skin Care, Feminine Care and All Other.