Short Interest in Graham Holdings (NYSE:GHC) Drops By 5.1%

Graham Holdings (NYSE:GHC) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 59,400 shares, a decline of 5.1% from the May 31st total of 62,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 16,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Graham from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th.

Insider Transactions at Graham

In related news, Director Anne M. Mulcahy acquired 135 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $745.07 per share, for a total transaction of $100,584.45. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $493,236.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 32.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graham

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Graham by 5.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 371,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,990,000 after buying an additional 20,629 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Graham by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 55,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,741,000 after buying an additional 867 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Graham by 27.2% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,051,000 after purchasing an additional 8,443 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Graham during the fourth quarter worth approximately $18,160,000. Finally, London Co. of Virginia lifted its position in shares of Graham by 1.0% during the third quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 23,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,620,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. 62.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graham Stock Performance

NYSE GHC opened at $702.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $729.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $720.48. Graham has a twelve month low of $551.36 and a twelve month high of $778.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Graham (NYSE:GHC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $11.24 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter. Graham had a net margin of 6.12% and a return on equity of 5.39%.

Graham Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 18th will be given a $1.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 18th. This represents a $6.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Graham’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.41%.

Graham Company Profile

Graham Holdings Company, through its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified education and media company in the United States and internationally. It provides test preparation services and materials; professional training and exam preparation for professional certifications and licensures; and non-academic operations support services to the Purdue University Global; operations support services for online courses and programs; training and test preparation services for accounting and financial services professionals; English-language training, academic preparation programs, and test preparation for English proficiency exams; and A-level examination preparation services, as well as operates colleges, business school, higher education institution, and an online learning institution.