Koninklijke Philips (NYSE:PHG) Short Interest Up 18.0% in February

Koninklijke Philips (NYSE:PHG) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,360,000 shares, a growth of 18.0% from the February 13th total of 2,000,000 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 723,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Koninklijke Philips Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:PHG traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $26.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 408,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 870,844. The firm has a market cap of $25.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Koninklijke Philips has a 1 year low of $19.10 and a 1 year high of $32.91. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $26.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.79.

Koninklijke Philips (NYSE:PHG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.01). Koninklijke Philips had a positive return on equity of 10.85% and a negative net margin of 3.88%. The company had revenue of $5.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.10 billion. Research analysts forecast that Koninklijke Philips will post 1.63 EPS for the current year.

Koninklijke Philips Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.886 per share. This represents a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Koninklijke Philips’s payout ratio is currently -89.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Koninklijke Philips

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its position in shares of Koninklijke Philips by 724.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,409 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Koninklijke Philips during the third quarter worth $54,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Koninklijke Philips by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,150 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Koninklijke Philips during the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Koninklijke Philips during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. 13.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PHG has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group raised Koninklijke Philips from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. BNP Paribas raised Koninklijke Philips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Koninklijke Philips from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

About Koninklijke Philips

Koninklijke Philips N.V. operates as a health technology company in North America, the Greater China, and internationally. The company operates through Diagnosis & Treatment Businesses, Connected Care Businesses, and Personal Health Businesses segments. It also provides diagnostic imaging solutions, includes magnetic resonance imaging, X-ray systems, and computed tomography (CT) systems and software comprising detector-based spectral CT solutions, as well as molecular and hybrid imaging solutions for nuclear medicine; echography solutions focused on diagnosis, treatment planning and guidance for cardiology, general imaging, obstetrics/gynecology, and point-of-care applications; integrated interventional systems, and interventional diagnostic and therapeutic devices to treat coronary artery and peripheral vascular disease.