Short Interest in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Increases By 31.7%

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 18,510,000 shares, an increase of 31.7% from the February 13th total of 14,050,000 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 4,770,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GSK

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co grew its holdings in GSK by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 750 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in GSK during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in GSK by 195.5% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in GSK by 73.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in GSK during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GSK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of GSK in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, GSK currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

GSK Price Performance

GSK stock opened at $39.54 on Monday. GSK has a 52-week low of $31.72 and a 52-week high of $45.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $36.05 and a 200-day moving average of $37.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 48.59%. As a group, analysts predict that GSK will post 4.14 EPS for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.3932 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.74%.

About GSK

GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, and manufacture of vaccines, and specialty and general medicines to prevent and treat disease in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Commercial Operations and Total R&D.