Short Interest in Interface, Inc. (NASDAQ:TILE) Increases By 24.8%

Interface, Inc. (NASDAQ:TILE) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,860,000 shares, an increase of 24.8% from the August 15th total of 1,490,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 441,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Interface news, Director Daniel T. Hendrix sold 3,555 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $62,319.15. Following the transaction, the director now owns 191,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,350,806.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Daniel T. Hendrix sold 17,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.05, for a total value of $294,965.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 213,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,642,681.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel T. Hendrix sold 3,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $62,319.15. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 191,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,350,806.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 125,858 shares of company stock valued at $2,091,604. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Interface

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TILE. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in Interface during the second quarter worth $1,828,000. Meros Investment Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Interface by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meros Investment Management LP now owns 698,305 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $10,251,000 after acquiring an additional 10,616 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Interface by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 22,103 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. boosted its position in shares of Interface by 173.8% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 122,173 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,794,000 after buying an additional 77,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LP bought a new stake in Interface during the second quarter worth $248,000. 98.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on TILE shares. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Interface in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Interface from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th.

Interface Trading Down 0.2 %

Interface stock traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $18.83. 1,304 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 413,755. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.16. Interface has a twelve month low of $8.26 and a twelve month high of $19.15.

Interface (NASDAQ:TILE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The textile maker reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $346.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $340.21 million. Interface had a return on equity of 18.42% and a net margin of 5.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. Research analysts predict that Interface will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Interface Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.21%. Interface’s dividend payout ratio is 3.96%.

About Interface

Interface, Inc designs, produces, and sells modular carpet products primarily worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Americas (AMS), and Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia (EAAA). The company offers modular carpets under the Interface and FLOR brand names; luxury vinyl tiles; carpet tiles under the CQuestGB name for use in commercial interiors, include offices, healthcare facilities, airports, educational and other institutions, hospitality spaces, and retail facilities, as well as residential interiors; and modular resilient flooring products.