Short Interest in Koninklijke Philips (NYSE:PHG) Increases By 18.0%

Koninklijke Philips (NYSE:PHG) saw a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,360,000 shares, an increase of 18.0% from the February 13th total of 2,000,000 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 723,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Koninklijke Philips by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 99,003 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,507,000 after buying an additional 8,526 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in Koninklijke Philips by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 11,703 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Koninklijke Philips in the 4th quarter valued at about $114,000. Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Koninklijke Philips by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 14,224 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 4,795 shares during the period. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Koninklijke Philips by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 36,788 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $932,000 after purchasing an additional 2,210 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.67% of the company’s stock.

Koninklijke Philips Trading Down 3.0 %

Koninklijke Philips stock traded down $0.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $25.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 261,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 766,221. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $26.73 and a 200-day moving average of $27.78. Koninklijke Philips has a one year low of $19.75 and a one year high of $32.91. The stock has a market cap of $24.40 billion, a PE ratio of -30.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.78.

Koninklijke Philips (NYSE:PHG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $5.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. Koninklijke Philips had a positive return on equity of 10.85% and a negative net margin of 3.88%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Koninklijke Philips will post 1.63 EPS for the current year.

Koninklijke Philips Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.886 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.9%. Koninklijke Philips’s payout ratio is -89.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised Koninklijke Philips from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Koninklijke Philips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Koninklijke Philips from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Koninklijke Philips Company Profile

Koninklijke Philips N.V. operates as a health technology company in North America, the Greater China, and internationally. The company operates through Diagnosis & Treatment Businesses, Connected Care Businesses, and Personal Health Businesses segments. It also provides diagnostic imaging solutions, includes magnetic resonance imaging, X-ray systems, and computed tomography (CT) systems and software comprising detector-based spectral CT solutions, as well as molecular and hybrid imaging solutions for nuclear medicine; echography solutions focused on diagnosis, treatment planning and guidance for cardiology, general imaging, obstetrics/gynecology, and point-of-care applications; integrated interventional systems, and interventional diagnostic and therapeutic devices to treat coronary artery and peripheral vascular disease.