Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 17,900,000 shares, an increase of 32.8% from the January 31st total of 13,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,410,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Currently, 4.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NWL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of Newell Brands from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Newell Brands from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Newell Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $10.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Newell Brands from $10.50 to $7.75 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Newell Brands from $9.50 to $10.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.81.

Newell Brands Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Newell Brands stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $6.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,611,178 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,045,878. Newell Brands has a one year low of $5.39 and a one year high of $11.78. The company has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Newell Brands (NASDAQ:NWL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. Newell Brands had a negative net margin of 2.85% and a positive return on equity of 9.76%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.22 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Newell Brands will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Newell Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Newell Brands’s payout ratio is currently -53.85%.

Insider Activity at Newell Brands

In other Newell Brands news, insider Tracy L. Platt sold 23,343 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.31, for a total value of $240,666.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NWL. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Newell Brands by 233.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,527,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,695,000 after purchasing an additional 10,172,696 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Newell Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $72,431,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Newell Brands by 5,324.8% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,724,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,282,000 after buying an additional 4,637,180 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Newell Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $37,174,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Newell Brands by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,089,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,172,000 after buying an additional 3,188,718 shares during the last quarter. 92.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Newell Brands

Newell Brands Inc engages in the design, manufacture, sourcing, and distribution of consumer and commercial products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Home and Commercial Solutions, Learning and Development, and Outdoor and Recreation. The Commercial Solutions segment provides commercial cleaning and maintenance solution products under the Rubbermaid, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Mapa, and Spontex brands; closet and garage organization products; hygiene systems and material handling solutions; household products, such as kitchen appliances under the Crockpot, Mr.