Short Interest in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Decreases By 19.4%

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,050,000 shares, a decrease of 19.4% from the January 31st total of 17,430,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,570,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GSK. StockNews.com raised GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of GSK in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GSK

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GSK. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of GSK by 13.6% in the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 11,814 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 1,410 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in GSK by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 736,510 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,973,000 after buying an additional 56,843 shares during the period. BSW Wealth Partners purchased a new stake in GSK in the 3rd quarter worth $223,000. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new stake in GSK during the third quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, KG&L Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of GSK by 44.1% in the third quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 16,685 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $679,000 after acquiring an additional 5,104 shares in the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GSK Stock Performance

GSK traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $38.53. 4,987,401 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,925,574. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $35.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.20. GSK has a 52-week low of $31.72 and a 52-week high of $45.92.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 48.59%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that GSK will post 4.14 EPS for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.3932 per share. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. GSK’s payout ratio is presently 98.74%.

About GSK

GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, and manufacture of vaccines, and specialty and general medicines to prevent and treat disease in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Commercial Operations and Total R&D.