Graham Holdings (NYSE:GHC) Short Interest Update

Graham Holdings (NYSE:GHC - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 54,800 shares, an increase of 6.8% from the September 30th total of 51,300 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 13,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Graham Price Performance

Shares of GHC stock traded down $1.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $841.88. 11,905 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,112. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Graham has a 52-week low of $576.29 and a 52-week high of $851.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $791.06 and a 200 day moving average of $753.88. The company has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a PE ratio of 16.45 and a beta of 1.11.

Graham (NYSE:GHC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $12.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter. Graham had a return on equity of 5.80% and a net margin of 4.86%.

Graham Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 17th. This represents a $6.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Graham's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graham

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GHC. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Graham by 69.2% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,824 shares of the company's stock worth $1,400,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its position in shares of Graham by 1.3% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 3,133 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,405,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Graham by 2.9% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 7,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,451,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Graham during the first quarter worth approximately $452,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Graham by 2.2% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 799 shares of the company's stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.54% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Graham from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th.

Graham Company Profile

Graham Holdings Company, through its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified education and media company in the United States and internationally. It provides test preparation services and materials; professional training and exam preparation for professional certifications and licensures; and non-academic operations support services to the Purdue University Global; operations support services for online courses and programs; training and test preparation services for accounting and financial services professionals; English-language training, academic preparation programs, and test preparation for English proficiency exams; and A-level examination preparation services, as well as operates colleges, business school, higher education institution, and an online learning institution.