Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,570,000 shares, a decrease of 15.1% from the February 13th total of 5,380,000 shares. Currently, 3.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,550,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Perrigo Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PRGO opened at $27.83 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.78 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Perrigo has a 1-year low of $23.14 and a 1-year high of $33.46. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $25.53 and its 200 day moving average is $26.16.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 7.38% and a negative net margin of 3.64%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Perrigo will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Perrigo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This is a boost from Perrigo’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Perrigo’s payout ratio is -92.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRGO has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Perrigo from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Perrigo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Perrigo news, EVP Ronald Craig Janish sold 7,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.44, for a total value of $214,032.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,666 shares in the company, valued at $923,795.04. This represents a 18.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Perrigo

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in Perrigo by 1,942.0% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in Perrigo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Perrigo by 93.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its stake in shares of Perrigo by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Perrigo by 97.8% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 2,084 shares during the period. 95.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Perrigo

Perrigo Company plc provides over-the-counter health and wellness solutions to enhance individual well-being in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through Consumer Self-Care Americas and Consumer Self-Care International segments. The company develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes self-care consumer products, such as upper respiratory products, including cough suppressants, expectorants, and sinus and allergy relief; nutrition products consisting of infant formulas and nutritional beverages; digestive health products, including antacids, anti-diarrheal, and anti-heartburn; pain and sleep-aids products comprising pain relievers and fever reducers; and oral care products, which include toothbrushes, toothbrush replacement heads, floss, flossers, whitening products, and toothbrush covers.