ODP (NASDAQ:ODP) Shares Down 15% on Disappointing Earnings

Shares of The ODP Co. (NASDAQ:ODP) traded down 15% during trading on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $43.00 and last traded at $44.11. 216,679 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 28% from the average session volume of 301,305 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.90.

The specialty retailer reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.59). The business had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. ODP had a net margin of 1.77% and a return on equity of 19.45%. The business’s revenue was down 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share.

ODP announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 48.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ODP. TheStreet cut ODP from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of ODP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.00.

Insider Transactions at ODP

In other news, CFO Diego Anthony Scaglione sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $1,375,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 96,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,285,720. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 3.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of ODP

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ODP by 49.9% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,481,692 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $83,419,000 after buying an additional 493,233 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in ODP in the 4th quarter worth approximately $21,070,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its position in ODP by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,207,623 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $67,989,000 after purchasing an additional 164,020 shares during the last quarter. Pennant Select LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ODP during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,826,000. Finally, Greenlight Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ODP by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Greenlight Capital Inc. now owns 1,748,100 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $98,418,000 after purchasing an additional 133,750 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.56% of the company’s stock.

ODP Trading Down 15.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $51.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.68.

About ODP

The ODP Corporation provides business services and supplies, products, and digital workplace technology solutions for small, medium, and enterprise businesses in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company operates through four divisions: ODP Business Solutions, Office Depot, Veyer, and Varis.