Sylvamo Co. (NYSE:SLVM) Short Interest Up 42.3% in February

Sylvamo Co. (NYSE:SLVM) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 897,400 shares, an increase of 42.3% from the February 13th total of 630,800 shares. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 344,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Sylvamo Stock Up 0.3 %

SLVM stock opened at $65.60 on Tuesday. Sylvamo has a fifty-two week low of $56.20 and a fifty-two week high of $98.02. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $73.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.15.

Sylvamo (NYSE:SLVM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.10. Sylvamo had a return on equity of 34.72% and a net margin of 7.96%. As a group, analysts forecast that Sylvamo will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sylvamo Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 8th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Sylvamo’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SLVM shares. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of Sylvamo in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Sylvamo from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

Insider Activity at Sylvamo

In related news, CEO Jeanmichel Ribieras sold 21,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.53, for a total transaction of $1,392,512.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 153,144 shares in the company, valued at $10,035,526.32. The trade was a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sylvamo

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SLVM. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sylvamo by 83,084.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,304,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $197,815,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301,427 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Sylvamo by 39.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,177,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,045,000 after purchasing an additional 334,792 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Sylvamo by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,016,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,289,000 after acquiring an additional 134,066 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Sylvamo by 185.1% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 144,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,413,000 after purchasing an additional 93,767 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sylvamo during the 4th quarter valued at $6,505,000. 91.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sylvamo Company Profile

Sylvamo Corporation produces and markets uncoated freesheet for cutsize, offset paper, and pulp in Latin America, Europe, and North America. The company operates through Europe, Latin America, and North America segments. The Europe segment offers copy, tinted, and colored laser printing paper under REY Adagio and Pro-Design brands; and graphic and high-speed inkjet printing papers under the brand Jetstar; as well as produces uncoated freesheet papers.