GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,400,000 shares, an increase of 5.8% from the May 31st total of 7,940,000 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 3,580,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GSK shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of GSK from $52.50 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of GSK in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GSK

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of GSK by 2,816.7% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 700 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 676 shares during the last quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GSK in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GSK in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of GSK in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of GSK in the 1st quarter worth $49,000. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GSK Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:GSK opened at $38.46 on Friday. GSK has a 1 year low of $33.67 and a 1 year high of $45.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $42.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.24.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.15. GSK had a return on equity of 51.54% and a net margin of 14.62%. The firm had revenue of $9.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.98 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that GSK will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.3762 dividend. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.26%.

About GSK

GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, and manufacture of vaccines, and specialty and general medicines to prevent and treat disease in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Commercial Operations and Total R&D.