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

National Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ:FIZZ) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,490,000 shares, a decline of 5.7% from the November 30th total of 2,640,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 151,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 16.5 days. Currently, 11.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other National Beverage news, Director Cecil D. Conlee sold 2,736 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.01, for a total transaction of $128,619.36. Following the sale, the director now owns 53,744 shares in the company, valued at $2,526,505.44. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 74.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of National Beverage

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of National Beverage by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 16,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $842,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Willis Investment Counsel raised its position in National Beverage by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 6,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in National Beverage by 3.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in National Beverage by 323.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 491 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of National Beverage by 584.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 23.95% of the company’s stock.

National Beverage Stock Up 0.4 %

FIZZ opened at $42.67 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.14. National Beverage has a 52 week low of $42.18 and a 52 week high of $53.58. The stock has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of 21.44 and a beta of 0.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, UBS Group reduced their target price on National Beverage from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th.

National Beverage Company Profile

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.