The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Short Interest Update

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 19,550,000 shares, a decrease of 6.2% from the December 15th total of 20,850,000 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 9,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DIS has been the topic of several research reports. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.54.

Walt Disney Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE DIS traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $107.07. The company had a trading volume of 7,103,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,534,095. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $112.08 and its 200 day moving average is $99.69. The company has a market capitalization of $193.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. Walt Disney has a fifty-two week low of $83.91 and a fifty-two week high of $123.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walt Disney will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.90%.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $568,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. This represents a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total transaction of $42,667,242.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walt Disney

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Walt Disney in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its stake in Walt Disney by 98.1% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Walt Disney during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the third quarter worth $51,000. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Walt Disney

The Walt Disney Company operates as an entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Entertainment, Sports, and Experiences. The company produces and distributes film and television video streaming content under the ABC Television Network, Disney, Freeform, FX, Fox, National Geographic, and Star brand television channels, as well as ABC television stations and A+E television networks; and produces original content under the ABC Signature, Disney Branded Television, FX Productions, Lucasfilm, Marvel, National Geographic Studios, Pixar, Searchlight Pictures, Twentieth Century Studios, 20th Television, and Walt Disney Pictures banners.