Short Interest in PLDT Inc. (NYSE:PHI) Increases By 33.7%

PLDT Inc. (NYSE:PHI) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 209,900 shares, an increase of 33.7% from the February 28th total of 157,000 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 69,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

PLDT Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE PHI traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $21.89. 78,301 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 47,416. The firm has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.35, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.68. PLDT has a 1-year low of $21.00 and a 1-year high of $29.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.68.

PLDT (NYSE:PHI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The technology company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $960.62 million for the quarter. PLDT had a net margin of 12.34% and a return on equity of 22.11%. On average, equities analysts forecast that PLDT will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PLDT Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a $0.812 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a dividend yield of 5.4%. PLDT’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded PLDT from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th.

Institutional Trading of PLDT

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHI. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in PLDT in the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in shares of PLDT during the third quarter worth approximately $79,000. Ascent Group LLC acquired a new stake in PLDT in the 3rd quarter valued at $218,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in PLDT by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,629 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in PLDT during the fourth quarter worth $266,000. 2.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About PLDT

PLDT Inc provides telecommunications and digital services in the Philippines. The company operates through three segments: Wireless, Fixed Line, and Others. It offers cellular mobile, Internet broadband distribution, operations support, software development, and satellite information and messaging services; and sells Wi-Fi access equipment.