Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,280,000 shares, a drop of 9.9% from the October 15th total of 2,530,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 421,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.4 days. Currently, 4.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on EPC shares. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Edgewell Personal Care from $50.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Edgewell Personal Care from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Edgewell Personal Care from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Edgewell Personal Care

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in Edgewell Personal Care in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Edgewell Personal Care in the third quarter worth about $48,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Edgewell Personal Care during the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Edgewell Personal Care in the second quarter worth approximately $76,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Edgewell Personal Care during the 2nd quarter valued at $84,000. 91.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Edgewell Personal Care Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of EPC traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $34.68. The company had a trading volume of 241,153 shares, compared to its average volume of 396,654. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81 and a beta of 0.86. Edgewell Personal Care has a 1 year low of $33.27 and a 1 year high of $41.50. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $517.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $535.23 million. Edgewell Personal Care had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 4.38%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Edgewell Personal Care will post 3.21 EPS for the current year.

Edgewell Personal Care Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Edgewell Personal Care’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.61%.

About Edgewell Personal Care

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.