Short Interest in Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) Expands By 18.9%

Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 37,630,000 shares, an increase of 18.9% from the February 13th total of 31,660,000 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 13,950,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Kenvue from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $25.00 to $24.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup cut their price target on Kenvue from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group cut their price target on Kenvue from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Kenvue from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Kenvue from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.75.

Kenvue Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE KVUE traded down $0.09 during trading on Thursday, reaching $23.45. The stock had a trading volume of 8,785,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,047,013. The company has a market cap of $44.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.22, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $21.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.42. Kenvue has a fifty-two week low of $17.67 and a fifty-two week high of $24.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.26. Kenvue had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 20.97%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kenvue will post 1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kenvue Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Kenvue’s payout ratio is 154.72%.

Institutional Trading of Kenvue

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Kenvue by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 603,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,888,000 after acquiring an additional 75,332 shares during the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new position in shares of Kenvue during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,101,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Kenvue in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,982,000. Brooklyn FI LLC acquired a new position in Kenvue in the 4th quarter valued at $948,000. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Kenvue by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 291,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,232,000 after purchasing an additional 8,532 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.64% of the company’s stock.

About Kenvue

Kenvue Inc operates as a consumer health company worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Self Care, Skin Health and Beauty, and Essential Health. The Self Care segment offers cough, cold and allergy, pain care, digestive health, smoking cessation, eye care, and other products under the Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, Nicorette, Zarbee's, ORSLTM, Rhinocort, Calpol, and Zyrtec brands.