Short Interest in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) Expands By 55.2%

Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,010,000 shares, an increase of 55.2% from the November 30th total of 1,940,000 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,090,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on UL shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Unilever currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

Institutional Trading of Unilever

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Unilever by 104.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 292,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,983,000 after purchasing an additional 149,111 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Unilever during the third quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Logan Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Unilever by 3.6% during the third quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 63,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,123,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Unilever by 3.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 346,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,427,000 after acquiring an additional 10,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in Unilever by 16.5% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 23,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,540,000 after acquiring an additional 3,349 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unilever Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of UL traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $56.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,565,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,569,932. The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.35. The firm has a market cap of $141.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.48. Unilever has a 1-year low of $46.46 and a 1-year high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.4755 per share. This is a boost from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Unilever’s payout ratio is currently 56.63%.

Unilever Company Profile

Unilever PLC operates as a fast-moving consumer goods company in the Asia Pacific, Africa, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through five segments: Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, Nutrition, and Ice Cream. The Beauty & Wellbeing segment engages in the sale of hair care products, such as shampoo, conditioner, and styling; skin care products including face, hand, and body moisturizer; and prestige beauty and health & wellbeing products consist of the vitamins, minerals, and supplements.