Koninklijke Philips (NYSE:PHG) Short Interest Update

Koninklijke Philips (NYSE:PHG) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,860,000 shares, a drop of 21.2% from the February 28th total of 2,360,000 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 732,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Koninklijke Philips Price Performance

Shares of PHG stock opened at $25.65 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $26.73 and its 200 day moving average is $27.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $24.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.53, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.78. Koninklijke Philips has a twelve month low of $19.10 and a twelve month high of $32.91.

Koninklijke Philips (NYSE:PHG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.01). Koninklijke Philips had a positive return on equity of 10.85% and a negative net margin of 3.88%. The business had revenue of $5.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. Research analysts expect that Koninklijke Philips will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Koninklijke Philips Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a $0.886 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.9%. Koninklijke Philips’s dividend payout ratio is currently -89.29%.

Institutional Trading of Koninklijke Philips

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PHG. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Koninklijke Philips by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,932 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in Koninklijke Philips by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 11,401 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Koninklijke Philips by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 51,331 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Koninklijke Philips by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,150 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network increased its stake in Koninklijke Philips by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 10,950 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PHG. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Koninklijke Philips from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Koninklijke Philips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Koninklijke Philips from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Koninklijke Philips from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

About Koninklijke Philips

Koninklijke Philips N.V. operates as a health technology company in North America, the Greater China, and internationally. The company operates through Diagnosis & Treatment Businesses, Connected Care Businesses, and Personal Health Businesses segments. It also provides diagnostic imaging solutions, includes magnetic resonance imaging, X-ray systems, and computed tomography (CT) systems and software comprising detector-based spectral CT solutions, as well as molecular and hybrid imaging solutions for nuclear medicine; echography solutions focused on diagnosis, treatment planning and guidance for cardiology, general imaging, obstetrics/gynecology, and point-of-care applications; integrated interventional systems, and interventional diagnostic and therapeutic devices to treat coronary artery and peripheral vascular disease.