Coty Inc. (NYSE:COTY) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Coty Inc. (NYSE:COTY) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 15,470,000 shares, a growth of 13.1% from the September 15th total of 13,680,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,970,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days. Currently, 4.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coty

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in COTY. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Coty by 1,448.8% in the second quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 5,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 4,810 shares in the last quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC bought a new stake in Coty in the 2nd quarter valued at $100,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coty in the 2nd quarter worth about $107,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Coty by 260.4% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 11,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 8,419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in Coty during the 1st quarter worth about $146,000. Institutional investors own 42.36% of the company’s stock.

Coty Stock Performance

Shares of COTY opened at $7.99 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $9.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.93 billion, a PE ratio of 34.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Coty has a 52-week low of $7.95 and a 52-week high of $13.30.

Coty (NYSE:COTY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.07). Coty had a net margin of 1.46% and a return on equity of 8.05%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.01 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Coty will post 0.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on COTY shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Coty from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Coty in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Coty from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Coty from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Coty from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.15.

Coty Company Profile

Coty Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells beauty products worldwide. It operates through Prestige and Consumer Beauty segments. The company provides fragrance, color cosmetics, and skin and body care products. It offers Prestige segment products primarily through prestige retailers, including perfumeries, department stores, e-retailers, direct-to-consumer websites, and duty-free shops under the Burberry, Calvin Klein, Chloe, Davidoff, Escada, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Jil Sander, Joop!, Kylie Jenner, Lancaster, Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu, Orveda, philosophy, SKKN BY KIM, and Tiffany & Co brands.