Short Interest in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Expands By 18.6%

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 10,720,000 shares, a growth of 18.6% from the February 13th total of 9,040,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,860,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Colgate-Palmolive

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CL. DSG Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at $240,000. 111 Capital bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at $377,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 266,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,219,000 after buying an additional 11,484 shares during the period. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at $331,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at $264,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $90.44 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $85.32 and a 12 month high of $109.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.01. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.72.

About Colgate-Palmolive

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells consumer products in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Oral, Personal and Home Care; and Pet Nutrition. The Oral, Personal and Home Care segment offers toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, bar and liquid hand soaps, shower gels, shampoos, conditioners, deodorants and antiperspirants, skin health products, dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, and other related items.