Prestige Consumer Healthcare Inc. (NYSE:PBH) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Prestige Consumer Healthcare Inc. (NYSE:PBH) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,680,000 shares, a decline of 18.8% from the January 31st total of 2,070,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 286,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.9 days. Approximately 3.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PBH has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Prestige Consumer Healthcare from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Prestige Consumer Healthcare from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Prestige Consumer Healthcare from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised Prestige Consumer Healthcare from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James raised Prestige Consumer Healthcare to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.60.

Prestige Consumer Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE PBH traded down $0.05 on Tuesday, reaching $85.20. 136,057 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 312,787. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of 19.95, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.50. Prestige Consumer Healthcare has a one year low of $62.35 and a one year high of $88.36. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.40. The company has a current ratio of 3.68, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Prestige Consumer Healthcare (NYSE:PBH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.04. Prestige Consumer Healthcare had a net margin of 19.13% and a return on equity of 12.36%. Analysts expect that Prestige Consumer Healthcare will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Prestige Consumer Healthcare

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its holdings in shares of Prestige Consumer Healthcare by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 36,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,666,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC increased its position in Prestige Consumer Healthcare by 4.8% in the third quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 3,247 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Prestige Consumer Healthcare by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,697,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Prestige Consumer Healthcare by 48.9% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in shares of Prestige Consumer Healthcare by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 959 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.95% of the company’s stock.

Prestige Consumer Healthcare Company Profile

Prestige Consumer Healthcare Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells over-the-counter (OTC) health and personal care products in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, North American OTC Healthcare and International OTC Healthcare.