Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) Short Interest Update

Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) saw a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 37,630,000 shares, an increase of 18.9% from the February 13th total of 31,660,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 13,950,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Kenvue Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE KVUE traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $23.35. The company had a trading volume of 16,840,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,114,452. The stock has a market cap of $44.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.25. Kenvue has a 52 week low of $17.67 and a 52 week high of $24.46. The business’s 50-day moving average is $21.94 and its 200-day moving average is $22.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. Kenvue had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 20.97%. Equities analysts expect that Kenvue will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Kenvue Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. Kenvue’s payout ratio is currently 154.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KVUE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of Kenvue in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Kenvue from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Kenvue from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Kenvue from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Kenvue from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kenvue

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KVUE. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Kenvue in the fourth quarter valued at about $521,348,000. Starboard Value LP purchased a new position in Kenvue during the 4th quarter valued at about $467,864,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kenvue by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 127,213,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,942,458,000 after purchasing an additional 18,283,473 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kenvue by 61.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,719,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $912,059,000 after purchasing an additional 16,269,721 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Kenvue by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 97,661,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,085,070,000 after purchasing an additional 10,682,003 shares in the last quarter. 97.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kenvue

Kenvue Inc operates as a consumer health company worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Self Care, Skin Health and Beauty, and Essential Health. The Self Care segment offers cough, cold and allergy, pain care, digestive health, smoking cessation, eye care, and other products under the Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, Nicorette, Zarbee's, ORSLTM, Rhinocort, Calpol, and Zyrtec brands.