Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC) Short Interest Up 6.3% in August

Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC) saw a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,350,000 shares, an increase of 6.3% from the August 15th total of 2,210,000 shares. Currently, 4.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 424,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EPC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on Edgewell Personal Care from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Edgewell Personal Care from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Edgewell Personal Care from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.80.

Edgewell Personal Care Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:EPC traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $36.55. The company had a trading volume of 20,435 shares, compared to its average volume of 392,414. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.79. Edgewell Personal Care has a 1-year low of $33.71 and a 1-year high of $41.50. The firm has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.52.

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $647.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $649.67 million. Edgewell Personal Care had a return on equity of 9.92% and a net margin of 5.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. Research analysts predict that Edgewell Personal Care will post 3 earnings per share for the current year.

Edgewell Personal Care Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. Edgewell Personal Care’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.10%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Edgewell Personal Care

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Duality Advisers LP lifted its stake in Edgewell Personal Care by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 31,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,233,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 82.2% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 698 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 20,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $886,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 10,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. 91.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Edgewell Personal Care Company Profile

Edgewell Personal Care Company is a manufacturer and marketer of personal care products in the wet shave, sun and skin care, feminine care and infant care categories. As of September 30, 2016, the Company had a portfolio of over 25 brands. It manages its business in four segments: Wet Shave, Sun and Skin Care, Feminine Care and All Other.