Short Interest in Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Co. (NYSE:BAH) Rises By 43.1%

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Co. (NYSE:BAH) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,080,000 shares, a growth of 43.1% from the January 31st total of 4,250,000 shares. Approximately 4.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,980,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Booz Allen Hamilton Stock Performance

BAH opened at $105.59 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $126.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.21. The firm has a market cap of $13.37 billion, a PE ratio of 15.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. Booz Allen Hamilton has a fifty-two week low of $101.82 and a fifty-two week high of $190.59.

Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE:BAH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.07. Booz Allen Hamilton had a return on equity of 68.97% and a net margin of 7.39%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Booz Allen Hamilton will post 6.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booz Allen Hamilton Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. This is a boost from Booz Allen Hamilton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Booz Allen Hamilton’s payout ratio is presently 32.79%.

Institutional Trading of Booz Allen Hamilton

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAH. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in Booz Allen Hamilton by 387.5% during the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 195 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Booz Allen Hamilton during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Booz Allen Hamilton by 144.1% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 227 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Booz Allen Hamilton in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Booz Allen Hamilton during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 91.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BAH shares. Barclays upgraded shares of Booz Allen Hamilton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Booz Allen Hamilton from $185.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Booz Allen Hamilton from $200.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Booz Allen Hamilton from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Booz Allen Hamilton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $158.27.

Booz Allen Hamilton Company Profile

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation provides management and technology consulting, analytics, engineering, digital solutions, mission operations, and cyber services to governments, corporations, and not-for-profit organizations in the United States and internationally. It focuses on artificial intelligence services comprising of machine learning, predictive modeling, automation and decision analytics, and quantum computing.