PLDT Inc. (NYSE:PHI) Short Interest Up 33.7% in March

PLDT Inc. (NYSE:PHI) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 209,900 shares, an increase of 33.7% from the February 28th total of 157,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 69,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

PLDT Stock Down 3.1 %

PHI traded down $0.70 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $21.76. 30,139 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 48,263. The stock has a market cap of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.31, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s 50 day moving average is $23.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.66. PLDT has a fifty-two week low of $21.00 and a fifty-two week high of $29.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24.

PLDT (NYSE:PHI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The technology company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $960.62 million for the quarter. PLDT had a net margin of 12.34% and a return on equity of 22.11%. As a group, equities analysts expect that PLDT will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PLDT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.812 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a yield of 5.4%. PLDT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PLDT

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of PLDT in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in PLDT in the 3rd quarter valued at about $79,000. Ascent Group LLC bought a new position in shares of PLDT during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $218,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of PLDT by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,629 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of PLDT in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $266,000. 2.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded PLDT from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th.

About PLDT

PLDT Inc provides telecommunications and digital services in the Philippines. The company operates through three segments: Wireless, Fixed Line, and Others. It offers cellular mobile, Internet broadband distribution, operations support, software development, and satellite information and messaging services; and sells Wi-Fi access equipment.