Short Interest in Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC) Rises By 6.3%

Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,350,000 shares, a growth of 6.3% from the August 15th total of 2,210,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 424,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.5 days. Currently, 4.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on EPC shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on Edgewell Personal Care from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on Edgewell Personal Care from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Edgewell Personal Care from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Edgewell Personal Care currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Edgewell Personal Care

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EPC. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 82.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 698 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new stake in Edgewell Personal Care during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Edgewell Personal Care in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Edgewell Personal Care by 32,900.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Edgewell Personal Care in the second quarter worth about $53,000. 91.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Edgewell Personal Care Stock Performance

Edgewell Personal Care stock traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $36.48. The stock had a trading volume of 381,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 391,981. The company has a 50-day moving average of $38.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Edgewell Personal Care has a fifty-two week low of $33.71 and a fifty-two week high of $41.50. The company has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49 and a beta of 0.87.

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.21. Edgewell Personal Care had a net margin of 5.26% and a return on equity of 9.92%. The company had revenue of $647.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $649.67 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Edgewell Personal Care will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Edgewell Personal Care Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. Edgewell Personal Care’s payout ratio is 25.10%.

About Edgewell Personal Care

Edgewell Personal Care Company is a manufacturer and marketer of personal care products in the wet shave, sun and skin care, feminine care and infant care categories. As of September 30, 2016, the Company had a portfolio of over 25 brands. It manages its business in four segments: Wet Shave, Sun and Skin Care, Feminine Care and All Other.