Phibro Animal Health (NASDAQ:PAHC) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Phibro Animal Health Co. (NASDAQ:PAHC) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $22.37, but opened at $23.88. Phibro Animal Health shares last traded at $23.97, with a volume of 29,625 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.14. Phibro Animal Health had a return on equity of 21.59% and a net margin of 1.67%.

Phibro Animal Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Phibro Animal Health’s dividend payout ratio is 100.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAHC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Phibro Animal Health from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Phibro Animal Health from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Phibro Animal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Phibro Animal Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Phibro Animal Health during the 3rd quarter valued at $70,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Phibro Animal Health in the third quarter valued at about $70,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Phibro Animal Health by 63.7% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in Phibro Animal Health by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in Phibro Animal Health by 190.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 4,175 shares during the period. 99.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Phibro Animal Health Stock Up 9.9 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $21.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.60. The company has a current ratio of 3.23, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company has a market capitalization of $995.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.16, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.52.

About Phibro Animal Health

Phibro Animal Health Corporation operates as an animal health and mineral nutrition company in the United States, Israel, Brazil, Ireland, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Animal Health, Mineral Nutrition, and Performance Products. The company develops, manufactures, and markets various products for food and companion animals including poultry, swine, beef and dairy cattle, aquaculture, and dogs.