Phibro Animal Health Co. (NASDAQ:PAHC) Short Interest Down 23.1% in March

Phibro Animal Health Co. (NASDAQ:PAHC) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 726,000 shares, a drop of 23.1% from the February 28th total of 943,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 249,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 3.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Phibro Animal Health

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Phibro Animal Health in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Phibro Animal Health by 2,739.7% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Phibro Animal Health in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $70,000. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Phibro Animal Health in the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Phibro Animal Health in the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. Institutional investors own 99.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on PAHC shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Phibro Animal Health from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on Phibro Animal Health from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Phibro Animal Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Phibro Animal Health currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.00.

Phibro Animal Health Stock Performance

Shares of PAHC traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $21.81. 75,271 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 184,370. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $22.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $883.37 million, a PE ratio of 45.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 3.20. Phibro Animal Health has a 1-year low of $12.17 and a 1-year high of $26.55.

Phibro Animal Health (NASDAQ:PAHC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.14. Phibro Animal Health had a return on equity of 25.35% and a net margin of 1.75%. Equities research analysts predict that Phibro Animal Health will post 1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Phibro Animal Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Phibro Animal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

About Phibro Animal Health

Phibro Animal Health Corporation operates as an animal health and mineral nutrition company in the United States, Israel, Brazil, Ireland, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Animal Health, Mineral Nutrition, and Performance Products. The company develops, manufactures, and markets various products for food and companion animals including poultry, swine, beef and dairy cattle, aquaculture, and dogs.