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

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

Edgewell Personal Care Stock Down 1.0 %

Edgewell Personal Care stock traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $36.48. The stock had a trading volume of 381,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 391,981. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.79. Edgewell Personal Care has a 1-year low of $33.71 and a 1-year high of $41.50.

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $647.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $649.67 million. Edgewell Personal Care had a net margin of 5.26% and a return on equity of 9.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Edgewell Personal Care will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Edgewell Personal Care Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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%.

Institutional Trading of Edgewell Personal Care

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Edgewell Personal Care by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 695,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,481,000 after acquiring an additional 8,312 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 82.2% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Edgewell Personal Care in the 4th quarter valued at about $11,647,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its holdings in Edgewell Personal Care by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,195,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,774,000 after purchasing an additional 120,772 shares during the period. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Edgewell Personal Care during the fourth quarter worth approximately $267,000. Institutional investors own 91.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EPC. StockNews.com raised shares of Edgewell Personal Care from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Edgewell Personal Care from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price 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. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.80.

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.