Embecta Corp. (NASDAQ:EMBC) Short Interest Down 5.5% in January

Embecta Corp. (NASDAQ:EMBC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,370,000 shares, a decline of 5.5% from the January 15th total of 1,450,000 shares. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 440,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EMBC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Embecta from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Embecta from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $13.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, December 2nd.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Milton Mayo Morris sold 3,100 shares of Embecta stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.38, for a total transaction of $50,778.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 36,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $591,858.54. This trade represents a 7.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Embecta

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Embecta by 175.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 774 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Embecta by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,489 shares of the company's stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 923 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Embecta by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,102 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its position in Embecta by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 32,307 shares of the company's stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Embecta by 796.3% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares during the last quarter. 93.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Embecta Stock Down 2.2 %

NASDAQ EMBC traded down $0.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $14.10. 955,934 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 434,357. The company has a market capitalization of $819.63 million, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.20. Embecta has a 12-month low of $9.93 and a 12-month high of $21.48. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.55.

Embecta (NASDAQ:EMBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.20. Embecta had a net margin of 5.25% and a negative return on equity of 19.22%. As a group, research analysts predict that Embecta will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Embecta Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. Embecta's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.00%.

About Embecta

Embecta Corp., a medical device company, focuses on the provision of various solutions to enhance the health and wellbeing of people living with diabetes. Its products include pen needles, syringes, and safety injection devices, as well as digital applications to assist people with managing patient's diabetes.