Short Interest in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Rises By 31.7%

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 18,510,000 shares, a growth of 31.7% from the February 13th total of 14,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,770,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of GSK by 8.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,008,928 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,185,885,000 after buying an additional 2,224,345 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in GSK by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,576,930 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $759,425,000 after acquiring an additional 870,449 shares during the last quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in GSK by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 409,669 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $16,747,000 after acquiring an additional 51,378 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in GSK by 61.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 433,628 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $17,728,000 after acquiring an additional 165,556 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of GSK by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 500,495 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $20,460,000 after purchasing an additional 83,433 shares during the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GSK Stock Performance

Shares of GSK stock opened at $40.35 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $36.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.78. GSK has a 1 year low of $31.72 and a 1 year high of $45.93. The firm has a market cap of $83.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.37, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a return on equity of 48.59% and a net margin of 8.13%. Analysts predict that GSK will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.3932 dividend. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is 98.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on GSK. StockNews.com upgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on GSK in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.25.

GSK Company Profile

GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, and manufacture of vaccines, and specialty and general medicines to prevent and treat disease in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Commercial Operations and Total R&D.