Short Interest in Coty Inc. (NYSE:COTY) Grows By 5.5%

Coty Inc. (NYSE:COTY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,140,000 shares, a growth of 5.5% from the November 30th total of 12,460,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 3.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Coty by 10.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 14,746 shares of the company's stock worth $148,000 after buying an additional 1,414 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in Coty by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 42,339 shares of the company's stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 1,545 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Coty by 330.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 2,385 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Coty by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 112,773 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Coty by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 88,291 shares of the company's stock worth $885,000 after purchasing an additional 2,740 shares during the last quarter. 42.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on COTY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Coty from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Coty from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Coty from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Coty from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $12.50 price target on shares of Coty in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coty has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.41.

Coty Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:COTY traded up $0.04 on Wednesday, reaching $6.96. 2,706,093 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,268,193. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.89. Coty has a 52-week low of $6.80 and a 52-week high of $13.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The business has a fifty day moving average of $7.36 and a 200-day moving average of $8.69.

Coty (NYSE:COTY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.04). Coty had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 9.16%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.09 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Coty will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

About Coty

Coty Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells beauty products worldwide. It operates through Prestige and Consumer Beauty segments. The company provides fragrance, color cosmetics, and skin and body care products. It offers Prestige segment products primarily through prestige retailers, including perfumeries, department stores, e-retailers, direct-to-consumer websites, and duty-free shops under the Burberry, Calvin Klein, Chloe, Davidoff, Escada, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Jil Sander, Joop!, Kylie Jenner, Lancaster, Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu, Orveda, philosophy, SKKN BY KIM, and Tiffany & Co brands.