Relx Plc (NYSE:RELX) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Relx Plc (NYSE:RELX) saw a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,390,000 shares, an increase of 22.6% from the February 13th total of 1,950,000 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 637,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Relx Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RELX traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $48.97. The company had a trading volume of 485,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 730,686. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.62. The stock has a market cap of $90.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.90. Relx has a 1 year low of $40.25 and a 1 year high of $51.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

Relx Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.5586 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from Relx’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.23. Relx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on RELX shares. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Relx in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Relx from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Relx from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Relx by 83.0% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 10,665 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 4,836 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Relx by 2.5% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 35,559 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,688,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares during the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Relx during the third quarter worth $246,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Relx by 13.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 120,300 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,709,000 after purchasing an additional 14,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Relx by 11.3% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,831 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.02% of the company’s stock.

Relx Company Profile

RELX Plc engages in provision of information and analytics solutions for professional and business customers across industries. It operates through the following business segments: Scientific, Technical & Medical; Risk & Business Analytics; Legal; and Exhibitions. The Scientific, Technical & Medical segment is a global information analytics business that helps institutions and professionals advance healthcare, open science, and improve performance for the benefit of humanity.