Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Co. (NYSE:BAH) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Co. (NYSE:BAH) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,340,000 shares, an increase of 10.2% from the November 30th total of 3,940,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,520,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Currently, 3.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BAH shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Booz Allen Hamilton from $210.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Booz Allen Hamilton from $206.00 to $177.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Booz Allen Hamilton from $142.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com cut Booz Allen Hamilton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Booz Allen Hamilton from $185.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booz Allen Hamilton

In related news, CFO Matthew Calderone sold 4,065 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $670,725.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,886,970. The trade was a 12.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard Crowe sold 4,243 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $700,095.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,206,840. This trade represents a 14.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Booz Allen Hamilton

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Booz Allen Hamilton by 20.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 15,212 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,341,000 after acquiring an additional 2,569 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors bought a new position in Booz Allen Hamilton during the 2nd quarter worth $224,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its position in shares of Booz Allen Hamilton by 317.2% in the second quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 12,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,897,000 after acquiring an additional 9,372 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Booz Allen Hamilton by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,876 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Booz Allen Hamilton by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,754 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.82% of the company’s stock.

Booz Allen Hamilton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BAH traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $128.70. 1,097,255 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 889,311. Booz Allen Hamilton has a 12 month low of $123.17 and a 12 month high of $190.59. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $151.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.44 billion, a PE ratio of 20.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.52.

Booz Allen Hamilton Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Booz Allen Hamilton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.03%.

Booz Allen Hamilton Company Profile

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation provides management and technology consulting, analytics, engineering, digital solutions, mission operations, and cyber services to governments, corporations, and not-for-profit organizations in the United States and internationally. It focuses on artificial intelligence services comprising of machine learning, predictive modeling, automation and decision analytics, and quantum computing.