Short Interest in Farmer Bros. Co. (NASDAQ:FARM) Increases By 650.5%

Farmer Bros. Co. (NASDAQ:FARM) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 612,400 shares, a growth of 650.5% from the January 31st total of 81,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 660,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days. Currently, 3.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Farmer Bros. Stock Up 0.3 %

FARM traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $3.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 358,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,056,608. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $1.98 and its 200-day moving average is $2.10. Farmer Bros. has a 1 year low of $1.60 and a 1 year high of $3.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.27 and a beta of 1.78.

Farmer Bros. (NASDAQ:FARM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.18. Farmer Bros. had a negative return on equity of 27.45% and a negative net margin of 2.92%. As a group, research analysts expect that Farmer Bros. will post -0.37 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on Farmer Bros. in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Farmer Bros. by 5.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 209,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $414,000 after acquiring an additional 11,390 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Farmer Bros. in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Farmer Bros. by 58.3% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 19,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Farmer Bros. in the fourth quarter worth $69,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in shares of Farmer Bros. by 67.1% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 69,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 27,805 shares during the last quarter. 64.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Farmer Bros.

Farmer Bros. Co engages in the roasting, wholesale, equipment servicing, and distribution of coffee, tea, and other allied products in the United States. The company offers roast and ground coffee; frozen liquid coffee; flavoured and unflavoured iced and hot teas; culinary products, including spices, pancake and biscuit mixes, gravy and sauce mixes, soup bases, dressings, and syrups and sauces, as well as coffee filters, cups, sugar, and creamers; and other beverages comprising cappuccino, cocoa, granitas, and other blender-based beverages and concentrated and ready-to-drink cold brew and iced coffee.