Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE:WWW) Short Interest Up 33.3% in February

Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE:WWW) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 8,040,000 shares, a growth of 33.3% from the February 13th total of 6,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,340,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.0 days. Approximately 10.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wolverine World Wide Trading Up 2.2 %

Wolverine World Wide stock traded up $0.30 during trading on Monday, hitting $13.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,243,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,176,953. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $19.03 and its 200 day moving average is $19.01. Wolverine World Wide has a 1-year low of $9.07 and a 1-year high of $24.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.83 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Wolverine World Wide (NYSE:WWW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The textile maker reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. Wolverine World Wide had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 26.81%. The company had revenue of $494.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $485.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.30) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Wolverine World Wide will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

Wolverine World Wide Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Wolverine World Wide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.73%.

Institutional Trading of Wolverine World Wide

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Wolverine World Wide in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Wolverine World Wide by 88.8% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,450 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 682 shares in the last quarter. Natixis purchased a new stake in Wolverine World Wide during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Wolverine World Wide in the fourth quarter worth $64,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Wolverine World Wide by 43.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,303 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 1,311 shares during the period. 90.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on WWW. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Wolverine World Wide in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com cut Wolverine World Wide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group cut their price target on Wolverine World Wide from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Wolverine World Wide from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Wolverine World Wide from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wolverine World Wide has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.50.

Wolverine World Wide Company Profile

Wolverine World Wide, Inc designs, manufactures, sources, markets, licenses, and distributes footwear, apparel, and accessories in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, Canada and Latin America. It operates through Active Group and Work Group segments. The company offers casual footwear and apparel; performance outdoor and athletic footwear and apparel; kids' footwear; industrial work boots and apparel; and uniform shoes and boots.