JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) Short Interest Up 9.5% in August

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 27,680,000 shares, an increase of 9.5% from the August 15th total of 25,290,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 9,100,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Retirement Group LLC grew its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 227.1% during the first quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Davidson Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. 71.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on JPM shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $219.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $230.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $210.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.06.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trading Down 0.8 %

JPM stock traded down $1.65 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $207.60. The company had a trading volume of 8,255,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,139,158. The stock has a market cap of $596.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50-day moving average of $211.43 and a 200-day moving average of $201.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a one year low of $135.19 and a one year high of $225.48.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $6.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.19 by $1.93. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 17.26%. The company had revenue of $50.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.37 EPS. Research analysts predict that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 16.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is an increase from JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co operates as a financial services company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Consumer & Community Banking (CCB), Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB), Commercial Banking (CB), and Asset & Wealth Management (AWM). The CCB segment offers deposit, investment and lending products, cash management, and payments and services; mortgage origination and servicing activities; residential mortgages and home equity loans; and credit cards, auto loans, leases, and travel services to consumers and small businesses through bank branches, ATMs, and digital and telephone banking.