Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 17,900,000 shares, a growth of 32.8% from the January 31st total of 13,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,410,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 4.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of Newell Brands from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Newell Brands from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Newell Brands from $10.50 to $7.75 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Newell Brands from $9.50 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Newell Brands from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.81.

Newell Brands Price Performance

Newell Brands stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $6.36. 9,611,178 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,045,878. Newell Brands has a one year low of $5.39 and a one year high of $11.78. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $8.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.61.

Newell Brands (NASDAQ:NWL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. Newell Brands had a negative net margin of 2.85% and a positive return on equity of 9.76%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Newell Brands will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Newell Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.40%. Newell Brands’s payout ratio is -53.85%.

Insider Transactions at Newell Brands

In other news, insider Tracy L. Platt sold 23,343 shares of Newell Brands stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.31, for a total value of $240,666.33. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Newell Brands

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Newell Brands by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,959,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,050,000 after acquiring an additional 82,337 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Newell Brands by 751.9% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 100,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $999,000 after buying an additional 88,483 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Newell Brands by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,233,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,476,000 after buying an additional 88,164 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP raised its holdings in Newell Brands by 135.6% during the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 98,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $758,000 after buying an additional 56,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Newell Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $762,000. 92.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Newell Brands Company Profile

Newell Brands Inc engages in the design, manufacture, sourcing, and distribution of consumer and commercial products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Home and Commercial Solutions, Learning and Development, and Outdoor and Recreation. The Commercial Solutions segment provides commercial cleaning and maintenance solution products under the Rubbermaid, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Mapa, and Spontex brands; closet and garage organization products; hygiene systems and material handling solutions; household products, such as kitchen appliances under the Crockpot, Mr.