Short Interest in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) Declines By 28.1%

Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,150,000 shares, a decline of 28.1% from the February 28th total of 1,600,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 819,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SNN has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Smith & Nephew in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Smith & Nephew currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.00.

Smith & Nephew Stock Performance

NYSE SNN traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $28.16. 595,017 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 812,075. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $12.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.83. Smith & Nephew has a 12-month low of $23.65 and a 12-month high of $31.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.24 and a 200 day moving average of $26.88.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.447 dividend. This is a boost from Smith & Nephew’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.29. This represents a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Smith & Nephew’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.20%.

Institutional Trading of Smith & Nephew

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 87.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,480 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Smith & Nephew in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,667 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Smith & Nephew by 391.4% during the fourth quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 2,457 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 1,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Smith & Nephew by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,975 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the period. 25.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Smith & Nephew Company Profile

Smith & Nephew plc engages in the development, manufacture, marketing, and sale of medical devices. It operates through the following segments: Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine and ENT, and Advanced Wound Management. The Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine and ENT segment consists of the following businesses: knee implants, hip implants, other reconstruction, trauma, sports medicine joint repair, arthroscopic enabling technologies, and ENT.