National Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ:FIZZ) Short Interest Update

National Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ:FIZZ) saw a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,490,000 shares, a growth of 5.1% from the July 31st total of 2,370,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 210,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 11.8 days. Currently, 11.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at National Beverage

In other National Beverage news, Director Cecil D. Conlee sold 10,000 shares of National Beverage stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.11, for a total value of $501,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 56,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,830,212.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Stanley Michael Sheridan sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.81, for a total transaction of $828,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 76,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,963,879.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Cecil D. Conlee sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.11, for a total transaction of $501,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,830,212.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 75.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National Beverage

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FIZZ. Quarry LP increased its stake in National Beverage by 584.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in shares of National Beverage by 9.5% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 60,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,091,000 after acquiring an additional 5,226 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of National Beverage by 1.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 16,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $842,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C purchased a new stake in shares of National Beverage in the second quarter valued at about $344,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of National Beverage by 7.2% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $465,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. 23.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

National Beverage Price Performance

NASDAQ:FIZZ opened at $45.16 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $48.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.83. National Beverage has a 1-year low of $42.85 and a 1-year high of $53.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89 and a beta of 0.84.

National Beverage (NASDAQ:FIZZ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. The company had revenue of $297.32 million for the quarter. National Beverage had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 36.10%.

National Beverage Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 24th were paid a dividend of $3.25 per share. This is a positive change from National Beverage’s previous dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 24th.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of National Beverage from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th.

About National Beverage

National Beverage Corp., through its subsidiaries, develops, produces, markets, and sells a portfolio of sparkling waters, juices, energy drinks, and carbonated soft drinks primarily in the United States and Canada. The company's Power+ brand portfolio offers sparkling water products under the LaCroix, LaCroix Cúrate, and LaCroix NiCola; non-carbonated flavored water under the Clear Fruit; energy drink and shots under the Rip It; juice and juice-based products under Everfresh, Everfresh Premier Varietals, and Mr.