Krispy Kreme, Inc. (NASDAQ:DNUT) Short Interest Down 7.3% in September

Krispy Kreme, Inc. (NASDAQ:DNUT) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 18,160,000 shares, a decrease of 7.3% from the August 31st total of 19,600,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,740,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 10.4 days. Approximately 21.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Krispy Kreme

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DNUT. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Krispy Kreme by 1,058.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 209,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,186,000 after purchasing an additional 191,044 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Krispy Kreme by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,317,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,971,000 after buying an additional 469,379 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Krispy Kreme by 226.1% in the first quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 172,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,626,000 after purchasing an additional 119,486 shares during the period. Samlyn Capital LLC increased its position in Krispy Kreme by 120.5% in the second quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 2,230,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,997,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218,699 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Krispy Kreme in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $246,000. 81.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Krispy Kreme Stock Performance

Shares of DNUT stock traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $10.61. The stock had a trading volume of 602,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,143,067. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of -39.41, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.41. Krispy Kreme has a fifty-two week low of $9.18 and a fifty-two week high of $17.84.

Krispy Kreme (NASDAQ:DNUT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05. The firm had revenue of $438.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $435.43 million. Krispy Kreme had a negative net margin of 2.98% and a positive return on equity of 1.12%. Krispy Kreme’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.04 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Krispy Kreme will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Krispy Kreme Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a $0.035 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. Krispy Kreme’s dividend payout ratio is presently -51.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DNUT. HSBC raised shares of Krispy Kreme from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Krispy Kreme in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Krispy Kreme in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Krispy Kreme from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial raised shares of Krispy Kreme from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $13.00 to $15.00 in a report on Monday, June 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.88.

About Krispy Kreme

Krispy Kreme, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, produces doughnuts in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada, Japan, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: U.S., International, and Market Development. The company offers doughnut experiences through hot light theater and fresh shops, delivered fresh daily branded cabinets and merchandising units within grocery and convenience stores, quick service restaurants, club memberships, drug stores, and ecommerce, as well as through its branded sweet treat line comprising Krispy Kreme branded sweet treats.