Primo Water Co. (NYSE:PRMW) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Primo Water Co. (NYSE:PRMW - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,450,000 shares, an increase of 27.9% from the September 30th total of 3,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,160,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days. Currently, 2.9% of the company's shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PRMW. William Blair began coverage on Primo Water in a report on Thursday. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Raymond James lowered Primo Water from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Primo Water in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Primo Water from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, October 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $25.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Primo Water

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Primo Water by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,159,661 shares of the company's stock worth $183,003,000 after purchasing an additional 248,774 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Primo Water by 0.9% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,827,623 shares of the company's stock worth $96,647,000 after buying an additional 32,875 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Primo Water by 3.2% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,595,042 shares of the company's stock worth $34,868,000 after buying an additional 49,500 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Primo Water by 27.3% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,401,438 shares of the company's stock worth $30,623,000 after buying an additional 300,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Primo Water by 4.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,362,600 shares of the company's stock worth $29,788,000 after buying an additional 53,241 shares in the last quarter. 87.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Primo Water Trading Down 1.9 %

PRMW traded down $0.52 during trading on Monday, hitting $27.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 689,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,189,137. Primo Water has a twelve month low of $12.97 and a twelve month high of $28.06. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $24.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.11.

Primo Water (NYSE:PRMW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.02. Primo Water had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 12.61%. The firm had revenue of $485.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $477.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Primo Water will post 0.88 EPS for the current year.

Primo Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a -- dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. Primo Water's payout ratio is 22.36%.

About Primo Water

Primo Water Corporation provides pure-play water solutions for residential and commercial customers. It offers bottled water, water dispensers, purified bottled water, self-service refill drinking water, premium spring, mineral water, sparkling and flavored essence water, filtration units, and coffee.