Japan Tob (OTCMKTS:JAPAY) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Japan Tob (OTCMKTS:JAPAY) saw a significant increase in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totaling 276,860 shares, an increase of 199.1% from the May 31st total of 92,564 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 223,131 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days. Approximately 0.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Zacks Research upgraded Japan Tob from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $17.00.

Japan Tob Stock Performance

JAPAY stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Monday, reaching $18.83. The company had a trading volume of 37,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 161,849. The company has a market cap of $66.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.88. Japan Tob has a twelve month low of $14.02 and a twelve month high of $20.68. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.71.

Japan Tob (OTCMKTS:JAPAY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Japan Tob will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

About Japan Tob

Japan Tobacco Inc (OTC: JAPAY) is a Tokyo-based multinational company primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. The company’s core activities include the development, production and distribution of cigarettes and other nicotine-delivery products for domestic and international markets. Japan Tobacco also pursues business activities beyond tobacco, including pharmaceutical and processed?food operations through subsidiary units and strategic investments.

In its tobacco operations the company serves both the Japanese market and a broad international footprint through its global operating arm, Japan Tobacco International (JTI).