DuPont de Nemours, Inc. (NYSE:DD) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

DuPont de Nemours, Inc. (NYSE:DD) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,210,000 shares, a growth of 37.5% from the January 31st total of 3,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,260,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

DuPont de Nemours Stock Performance

Shares of DD stock opened at $78.69 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.35. The company has a market cap of $32.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.34. DuPont de Nemours has a 12-month low of $68.81 and a 12-month high of $90.06.

DuPont de Nemours (NYSE:DD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.15. DuPont de Nemours had a return on equity of 7.12% and a net margin of 5.47%. On average, equities analysts forecast that DuPont de Nemours will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

DuPont de Nemours Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is a positive change from DuPont de Nemours’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. DuPont de Nemours’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DD. Citigroup boosted their price objective on DuPont de Nemours from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of DuPont de Nemours from $107.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of DuPont de Nemours from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of DuPont de Nemours from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays raised DuPont de Nemours from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $89.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, DuPont de Nemours presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.17.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its stake in DuPont de Nemours by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 3,973 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of DuPont de Nemours by 26.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,096 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $632,000 after buying an additional 1,464 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in shares of DuPont de Nemours by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,402 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of DuPont de Nemours by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 63,113 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,326,000 after buying an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners grew its stake in DuPont de Nemours by 28.4% in the 3rd quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 4,171 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 922 shares during the last quarter. 73.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

DuPont de Nemours Company Profile

DuPont de Nemours, Inc provides technology-based materials and solutions in the United States, Canada, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates through Electronics & Industrial, Water & Protection, and Corporate & Other segments. The Electronics & Industrial segment supplies materials and solutions for the fabrication of semiconductors and integrated circuits.