Short Interest in Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) Decreases By 28.1%

Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,150,000 shares, a drop of 28.1% from the February 28th total of 1,600,000 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 819,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smith & Nephew

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SNN. J. Goldman & Co LP purchased a new stake in shares of Smith & Nephew in the 4th quarter worth $47,700,000. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Smith & Nephew by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,032,016 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $49,947,000 after purchasing an additional 792,829 shares during the last quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Smith & Nephew in the fourth quarter worth about $11,820,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Smith & Nephew by 169.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 508,392 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,496,000 after purchasing an additional 320,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Smith & Nephew during the fourth quarter worth $6,132,000. 25.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SNN shares. StockNews.com upgraded Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Smith & Nephew in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.00.

Smith & Nephew Stock Performance

SNN traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $28.39. 694,920 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 815,289. Smith & Nephew has a 52 week low of $23.65 and a 52 week high of $31.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company’s 50-day moving average is $27.19 and its 200 day moving average is $26.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.83.

Smith & Nephew Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.447 dividend. This is an increase from Smith & Nephew’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.29. This represents a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Smith & Nephew’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.20%.

Smith & Nephew Company Profile

Smith & Nephew plc engages in the development, manufacture, marketing, and sale of medical devices. It operates through the following segments: Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine and ENT, and Advanced Wound Management. The Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine and ENT segment consists of the following businesses: knee implants, hip implants, other reconstruction, trauma, sports medicine joint repair, arthroscopic enabling technologies, and ENT.