Short Interest in IDT Co. (NYSE:IDT) Rises By 61.3%

IDT Co. (NYSE:IDT) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 304,300 shares, an increase of 61.3% from the September 30th total of 188,700 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 92,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days.

IDT Trading Down 1.6 %

IDT stock opened at $45.97 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 18.10 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.29. IDT has a 1-year low of $27.09 and a 1-year high of $49.60.

IDT Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. IDT’s payout ratio is currently 7.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at IDT

In related news, CFO Marcelo Fischer sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.57, for a total value of $29,142.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,573 shares in the company, valued at $1,824,920.61. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other IDT news, CFO Marcelo Fischer sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.57, for a total value of $29,142.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 37,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,824,920.61. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Bill Pereira sold 29,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total value of $1,378,227.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,889,600. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,582 shares of company stock worth $1,632,568. 15.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IDT

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IDT. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of IDT in the 3rd quarter valued at $54,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in IDT by 53.2% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in IDT by 176.9% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of IDT during the second quarter valued at about $203,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of IDT during the 1st quarter worth about $254,000. 59.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of IDT from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th.

About IDT

IDT Corporation provides communications and payment services in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through Fintech, National Retail Solutions, net2phone, and Traditional Communications segments. The company operates point of sale, a terminal-based platform which provides independent retailers store management software, electronic payment processing, and other ancillary merchant services; and provides marketers with digital out-of-home advertising and transaction data.