Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) Short Interest Up 11.7% in September

Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 5,250,000 shares, an increase of 11.7% from the September 15th total of 4,700,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,500,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Church & Dwight stock traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $104.89. 137,764 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,359,364. Church & Dwight has a 12-month low of $82.25 and a 12-month high of $110.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market cap of $25.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $102.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.04.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 13.38% and a return on equity of 19.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Church & Dwight will post 3.43 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.2838 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Church & Dwight from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, September 9th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.50.

Insider Activity at Church & Dwight

In related news, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 59,328 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.37, for a total transaction of $5,895,423.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $429,179.03. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Church & Dwight

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Church & Dwight during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc acquired a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

About Church & Dwight

Church & Dwight Co, Inc develops, manufactures, and markets household, personal care, and specialty products. It operates in three segments: Consumer Domestic, Consumer International, and Specialty Products Division. The company offers cat litters, carpet deodorizers, laundry detergents, and baking soda, as well as other baking soda based products under the ARM & HAMMER brand; condoms, lubricants, and vibrators under the TROJAN brand; stain removers, cleaning solutions, laundry detergents, and bleach alternatives under the OXICLEAN brand; toothbrushes under the SPINBRUSH brand; home pregnancy and ovulation test kits under the FIRST RESPONSE brand; depilatories under the NAIR brand; oral analgesics under the ORAJEL brand; laundry detergents under the XTRA brand; gummy dietary supplements under the L'IL CRITTERS and VITAFUSION brands; dry shampoos under the BATISTE brand; water flossers and showerheads under the WATERPIK brand; cold shortening and relief products under the ZICAM brand; oral care products under the THERABREATH brand; and acne treatment products under the HERO brand.