JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 25,030,000 shares, an increase of 10.9% from the July 15th total of 22,580,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,320,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $219.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 13th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $215.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $211.00 target price on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.71.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of JPM traded up $2.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $213.97. 7,931,234 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,221,095. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $614.45 billion, a PE ratio of 11.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $204.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $195.56. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 52-week low of $135.19 and a 52-week high of $217.56.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $6.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.19 by $1.93. The business had revenue of $50.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.23 billion. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 17.26%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.37 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 16.78 earnings per share for the current year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th were given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 5th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other JPMorgan Chase & Co. news, insider Ashley Bacon sold 5,086 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.54, for a total transaction of $1,014,860.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 212,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,355,358.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Ashley Bacon sold 5,086 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.54, for a total transaction of $1,014,860.44. Following the sale, the insider now owns 212,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,355,358.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Stacey Friedman sold 4,415 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.65, for a total transaction of $885,869.75. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 42,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,452,180.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,799 shares of company stock valued at $2,963,721 over the last 90 days. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On JPMorgan Chase & Co.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JPM. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 132.8% in the 4th quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Group LLC grew its position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 227.1% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the second quarter valued at $34,000. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co operates as a financial services company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Consumer & Community Banking (CCB), Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB), Commercial Banking (CB), and Asset & Wealth Management (AWM). The CCB segment offers deposit, investment and lending products, cash management, and payments and services; mortgage origination and servicing activities; residential mortgages and home equity loans; and credit cards, auto loans, leases, and travel services to consumers and small businesses through bank branches, ATMs, and digital and telephone banking.