Short Interest in Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARAA) Declines By 14.4%

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARAA) saw a significant decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 288,800 shares, a decrease of 14.4% from the February 13th total of 337,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 31,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.3 days. Approximately 3.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Paramount Global

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. boosted its stake in Paramount Global by 1,152.0% during the 4th quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 125,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,792,000 after purchasing an additional 115,200 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Paramount Global by 450.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 124,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,784,000 after acquiring an additional 102,165 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Paramount Global by 41.2% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 230,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,135,000 after acquiring an additional 67,177 shares in the last quarter. Slotnik Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Paramount Global in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,401,000. Finally, AQR Arbitrage LLC purchased a new position in Paramount Global in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,335,000. 5.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paramount Global Price Performance

Paramount Global stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.75. The company had a trading volume of 20,131 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,590. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.17 billion, a PE ratio of -2.77 and a beta of 1.57. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. Paramount Global has a 1-year low of $16.59 and a 1-year high of $26.34.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARAA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $7.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. Paramount Global had a positive return on equity of 5.81% and a negative net margin of 18.89%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Paramount Global will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paramount Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Paramount Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2.15%.

About Paramount Global

Paramount Global operates as a media, streaming, and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through TV Media, Direct-to-Consumer, and Filmed Entertainment segments. The TV Media segment operates CBS Television Network, a domestic broadcast television network; CBS Stations, a television station; and international free-to-air networks comprising Network 10, Channel 5, Telefe, and Chilevisión; domestic premium and basic cable networks, such as Paramount+ with Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, The Smithsonian Channel, Nickelodeon, BET Media Group, and CBS Sports Network; and international extensions of these brands.