Short Interest in ACCO Brands Co. (NYSE:ACCO) Rises By 22.6%

ACCO Brands Co. (NYSE:ACCO) saw a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,660,000 shares, a growth of 22.6% from the February 28th total of 2,170,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 836,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ACCO Brands

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in ACCO Brands by 123.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ACCO Brands during the third quarter worth about $61,000. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in ACCO Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $61,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in ACCO Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. purchased a new position in ACCO Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barrington Research decreased their price target on ACCO Brands from $7.50 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of ACCO Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th.

ACCO Brands Price Performance

NYSE ACCO traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $4.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 677,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 663,659. The firm has a market capitalization of $379.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.74. The company’s 50-day moving average is $4.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.94. ACCO Brands has a 1-year low of $3.99 and a 1-year high of $6.44.

ACCO Brands (NYSE:ACCO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.01). ACCO Brands had a positive return on equity of 14.96% and a negative net margin of 6.10%. The business had revenue of $448.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $455.06 million. On average, equities analysts predict that ACCO Brands will post 1.02 EPS for the current year.

ACCO Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. ACCO Brands’s payout ratio is -28.30%.

About ACCO Brands

ACCO Brands Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets consumer, school, technology, and office products. It operates through three segments: ACCO Brands North America, ACCO Brands EMEA, and ACCO Brands International. The company provides computer and gaming accessories, planners, dry erase boards, school notebooks, and janitorial supplies; storage and organization products, such as lever-arch binders, sheet protectors, and indexes; sheet protectors and indexes; laminating, binding, and shredding machines; writing instruments and art products; stapling and punching products; and do-it-yourself tools.