Short Interest in WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE:WT) Drops By 16.9%

WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE:WT) was the target of a large drop in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 18,160,000 shares, a drop of 16.9% from the February 13th total of 21,850,000 shares. Approximately 15.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,710,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 10.6 days.

Insider Activity at WisdomTree

In other WisdomTree news, insider Alexis Marinof sold 90,980 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.87, for a total transaction of $897,972.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 221,146 shares in the company, valued at $2,182,711.02. This represents a 29.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WisdomTree

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP increased its stake in WisdomTree by 1,778.5% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 2,650 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in WisdomTree by 173.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 2,405 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in WisdomTree by 60.7% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 4,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,777 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in WisdomTree during the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in WisdomTree by 48.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 2,540 shares during the period. 78.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WisdomTree Stock Performance

NYSE:WT traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $8.47. The stock had a trading volume of 1,434,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,437,507. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.31 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.14. WisdomTree has a 52 week low of $7.96 and a 52 week high of $12.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.02). WisdomTree had a net margin of 15.59% and a return on equity of 24.67%. On average, research analysts expect that WisdomTree will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WisdomTree Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. WisdomTree’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on WT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of WisdomTree from $12.00 to $10.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of WisdomTree from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.54.

About WisdomTree

WisdomTree, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an exchange-traded funds (ETFs) sponsor and asset manager. It offers ETFs in equities, currency, fixed income, and alternatives asset classes. The company also licenses its indexes to third parties for proprietary products, as well as offers a platform to promote the use of WisdomTree ETFs in 401(k) plans.