Short Interest in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Expands By 31.7%

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 18,510,000 shares, an increase of 31.7% from the February 13th total of 14,050,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,770,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Trading of GSK

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its stake in GSK by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 11,506 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. Northwest Bank & Trust Co increased its stake in GSK by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwest Bank & Trust Co now owns 22,405 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $765,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in GSK by 73.8% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its stake in GSK by 6.3% in the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 5,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Finally, GC Wealth Management RIA LLC increased its stake in GSK by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC now owns 14,009 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $474,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of GSK in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, GSK has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

GSK Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GSK traded up $0.01 on Tuesday, hitting $40.26. 2,184,744 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,992,411. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $36.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.99. GSK has a one year low of $31.72 and a one year high of $45.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.32, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 48.59%. Research analysts expect that GSK will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.3932 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK’s payout ratio is presently 98.74%.

GSK Company Profile

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.