Short Interest in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Grows By 5.8%

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,400,000 shares, an increase of 5.8% from the May 31st total of 7,940,000 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,580,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

GSK Stock Performance

GSK stock traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $38.46. The company had a trading volume of 1,348,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,635,354. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.41 and a 200 day moving average of $41.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $79.71 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.64. GSK has a one year low of $33.67 and a one year high of $45.92.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $9.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.98 billion. GSK had a return on equity of 51.54% and a net margin of 14.62%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that GSK will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.3762 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is 53.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Citigroup upgraded shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of GSK from $52.50 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on GSK in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GSK

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GSK. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of GSK by 2,816.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 700 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares in the last quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in GSK during the first quarter worth $31,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GSK in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of GSK in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of GSK during the 1st quarter worth $49,000. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About GSK

GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, and manufacture of vaccines, and specialty and general medicines to prevent and treat disease in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Commercial Operations and Total R&D.