The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAIN) Short Interest Update

The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAIN) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,290,000 shares, a growth of 32.5% from the January 15th total of 5,500,000 shares. Approximately 8.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,590,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Hain Celestial Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in The Hain Celestial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $370,371,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in The Hain Celestial Group by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,223,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,276,000 after acquiring an additional 555,195 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in The Hain Celestial Group by 272.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,870,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,101,000 after acquiring an additional 4,293,945 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in The Hain Celestial Group by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,464,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,902,000 after acquiring an additional 15,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in The Hain Celestial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,322,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HAIN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of The Hain Celestial Group from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of The Hain Celestial Group from $7.00 to $4.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of The Hain Celestial Group from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of The Hain Celestial Group from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of The Hain Celestial Group from $9.00 to $6.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.56.

The Hain Celestial Group Stock Performance

HAIN stock traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $4.05. The company had a trading volume of 1,716,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,574,078. The firm has a market cap of $365.27 million, a PE ratio of -4.31 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 2.01. The Hain Celestial Group has a 12 month low of $3.28 and a 12 month high of $10.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $5.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.18.

The Hain Celestial Group (NASDAQ:HAIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.04). The Hain Celestial Group had a negative net margin of 4.94% and a positive return on equity of 3.13%. On average, analysts forecast that The Hain Celestial Group will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About The Hain Celestial Group

The Hain Celestial Group, Inc manufactures, markets, and sells organic and natural products in United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and internationally. It operates through two segments: North America and International. The company offers infant formula; infant, toddler, and kids' food; plant-based beverages and frozen desserts, such as soy, rice, oat, and spelt; and condiments.