Short Interest in Graham Holdings (NYSE:GHC) Rises By 6.8%

Graham Holdings (NYSE:GHC) saw a large growth in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 54,800 shares, a growth of 6.8% from the September 30th total of 51,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 13,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.1 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graham

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GHC. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graham during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Whittier Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Graham in the second quarter worth approximately $70,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graham during the second quarter worth approximately $76,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Graham in the 3rd quarter valued at $168,000. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Graham by 188.2% in the 2nd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.54% of the company’s stock.

Graham Stock Performance

NYSE:GHC traded down $3.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $839.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,079. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Graham has a fifty-two week low of $576.29 and a fifty-two week high of $851.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $791.06 and its 200-day moving average is $753.88. The firm has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45 and a beta of 1.11.

Graham (NYSE:GHC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $12.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter. Graham had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 5.80%.

Graham Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 17th will be given a dividend of $1.72 per share. This represents a $6.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 17th. Graham’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Graham from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th.

Graham Company Profile

Graham Holdings Company, through its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified education and media company in the United States and internationally. It provides test preparation services and materials; professional training and exam preparation for professional certifications and licensures; and non-academic operations support services to the Purdue University Global; operations support services for online courses and programs; training and test preparation services for accounting and financial services professionals; English-language training, academic preparation programs, and test preparation for English proficiency exams; and A-level examination preparation services, as well as operates colleges, business school, higher education institution, and an online learning institution.