Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Co. (NYSE:BAH) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Co. (NYSE:BAH) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,120,000 shares, a drop of 12.4% from the August 15th total of 2,420,000 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 690,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Booz Allen Hamilton Stock Down 0.6 %

Booz Allen Hamilton stock traded down $0.95 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $154.51. 425,323 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 665,405. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.59. Booz Allen Hamilton has a 52-week low of $106.90 and a 52-week high of $164.43. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $152.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $150.56.

Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE:BAH) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. Booz Allen Hamilton had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 65.80%. On average, research analysts expect that Booz Allen Hamilton will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booz Allen Hamilton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Booz Allen Hamilton’s payout ratio is presently 44.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on BAH. Wells Fargo & Company raised Booz Allen Hamilton from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $168.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Booz Allen Hamilton from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Booz Allen Hamilton from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Booz Allen Hamilton from $153.00 to $142.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Booz Allen Hamilton from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.33.

Insider Transactions at Booz Allen Hamilton

In other news, Director Melody C. Barnes sold 1,041 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.31, for a total value of $149,185.71. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,597,207.13. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.59% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BAH. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Booz Allen Hamilton in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Booz Allen Hamilton during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its stake in shares of Booz Allen Hamilton by 112.4% during the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 206 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Booz Allen Hamilton by 103.6% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Booz Allen Hamilton in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.82% of the company’s stock.

About Booz Allen Hamilton

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation provides management and technology consulting, analytics, engineering, digital solutions, mission operations, and cyber services to governments, corporations, and not-for-profit organizations in the United States and internationally. It focuses on artificial intelligence services comprising of machine learning, predictive modeling, automation and decision analytics, and quantum computing.