Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 17,900,000 shares, a growth of 32.8% from the January 31st total of 13,480,000 shares. Currently, 4.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,410,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Newell Brands

In other Newell Brands news, insider Tracy L. Platt sold 23,343 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.31, for a total value of $240,666.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Newell Brands

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Newell Brands during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Newell Brands during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Newell Brands during the third quarter worth $70,000. Claro Advisors LLC bought a new position in Newell Brands during the third quarter worth $79,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Newell Brands by 140.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 7,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 4,617 shares in the last quarter. 92.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NWL. Citigroup lowered their target price on Newell Brands from $10.50 to $7.75 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Newell Brands from $9.50 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Newell Brands from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Newell Brands from $9.50 to $10.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Newell Brands from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Newell Brands has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.81.

Newell Brands Trading Up 5.2 %

NASDAQ NWL opened at $6.69 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. Newell Brands has a twelve month low of $5.39 and a twelve month high of $11.78. The company has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s fifty day moving average is $8.82 and its 200 day moving average is $8.59.

Newell Brands (NASDAQ:NWL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. Newell Brands had a positive return on equity of 9.76% and a negative net margin of 2.85%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Newell Brands will post 0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Newell Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Newell Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -53.85%.

About Newell Brands

Newell Brands Inc engages in the design, manufacture, sourcing, and distribution of consumer and commercial products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Home and Commercial Solutions, Learning and Development, and Outdoor and Recreation. The Commercial Solutions segment provides commercial cleaning and maintenance solution products under the Rubbermaid, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Mapa, and Spontex brands; closet and garage organization products; hygiene systems and material handling solutions; household products, such as kitchen appliances under the Crockpot, Mr.