Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) Short Interest Up 55.2% in December

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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 reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a research 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.75.

Unilever Price Performance

UL stock traded down $0.70 on Monday, reaching $56.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,063,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,572,161. Unilever has a 52 week low of $46.46 and a 52 week high of $65.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $59.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.35. The company has a market capitalization of $140.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.48.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.4755 dividend. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is 56.63%.

Institutional Trading of Unilever

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 104.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 292,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,983,000 after acquiring an additional 149,111 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Unilever during the 3rd quarter valued at $225,000. Logan Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 3.6% in the third quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 63,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,123,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 3.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 346,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,427,000 after buying an additional 10,268 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,349 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Unilever

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.