Koninklijke Philips (NYSE:PHG) Short Interest Update

Koninklijke Philips (NYSE:PHG) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in 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. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 732,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Koninklijke Philips Price Performance

Shares of PHG traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $24.87. 691,165 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 870,069. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Koninklijke Philips has a one year low of $19.25 and a one year high of $32.91. The company has a market capitalization of $23.38 billion, a PE ratio of -29.61, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.47.

Koninklijke Philips (NYSE:PHG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $5.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.10 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Koninklijke Philips will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Koninklijke Philips Cuts Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Koninklijke Philips

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Koninklijke Philips by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,138,708 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $200,859,000 after purchasing an additional 35,935 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Koninklijke Philips by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 308,673 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,816,000 after purchasing an additional 15,395 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Koninklijke Philips during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,655,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Koninklijke Philips by 315.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 245,729 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,040,000 after purchasing an additional 186,520 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Koninklijke Philips by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 741,277 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $18,769,000 after buying an additional 26,227 shares during the last quarter. 13.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PHG shares. UBS Group upgraded Koninklijke Philips from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Koninklijke Philips from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Koninklijke Philips from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Koninklijke Philips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Koninklijke Philips currently has a consensus 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.