Vipshop Holdings Limited (NYSE:VIPS) Short Interest Up 42.2% in March

Vipshop Holdings Limited (NYSE:VIPS) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,730,000 shares, an increase of 42.2% from the February 28th total of 6,140,000 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,540,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VIPS. Citigroup lowered Vipshop from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Vipshop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Vipshop from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vipshop currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.30.

Vipshop Trading Down 2.2 %

Vipshop stock traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.34. 3,202,382 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,833,946. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.34, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.30. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.63. Vipshop has a fifty-two week low of $11.50 and a fifty-two week high of $17.94.

Vipshop (NYSE:VIPS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.82 billion. Vipshop had a net margin of 7.50% and a return on equity of 20.89%. Equities analysts anticipate that Vipshop will post 1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vipshop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.9%. Vipshop’s payout ratio is currently 24.24%.

Institutional Trading of Vipshop

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIPS. Hhlr Advisors LTD. boosted its holdings in Vipshop by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 15,720,322 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $247,281,000 after acquiring an additional 914,322 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Vipshop by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,961,402 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $188,060,000 after acquiring an additional 79,254 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in Vipshop by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 11,107,555 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $149,619,000 after acquiring an additional 139,320 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Vipshop by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,063,150 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $108,608,000 after acquiring an additional 993,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Vipshop by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,759,150 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $104,516,000 after acquiring an additional 1,718,159 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 48.82% of the company’s stock.

About Vipshop

Vipshop Holdings Limited operates online platforms in the People's Republic of China. It operates in Vip.com, Shan Shan Outlets, and Others segments. The company offers womenswear, menswear, sportswear and sporting goods, shoes and bags, accessories, baby and children products, skincare and cosmetics, home goods and other lifestyle products, and supermarket products.