Phibro Animal Health Co. (NASDAQ:PAHC) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Phibro Animal Health Co. (NASDAQ:PAHC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 726,000 shares, a drop of 23.1% from the February 28th total of 943,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 249,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days. Approximately 3.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Phibro Animal Health Price Performance

Shares of PAHC stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $21.90. The company had a trading volume of 142,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 184,934. Phibro Animal Health has a 12-month low of $12.30 and a 12-month high of $26.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 3.20. The company has a market capitalization of $887.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.63, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.80 and a 200-day moving average of $22.69.

Phibro Animal Health (NASDAQ:PAHC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.14. Phibro Animal Health had a return on equity of 25.35% and a net margin of 1.75%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Phibro Animal Health will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

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Phibro Animal Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Phibro Animal Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Institutional Trading of Phibro Animal Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Phibro Animal Health in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Phibro Animal Health by 2,739.7% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,647 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Phibro Animal Health in the 3rd quarter valued at about $70,000. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Phibro Animal Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $69,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Phibro Animal Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $69,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on PAHC shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Phibro Animal Health from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com cut Phibro Animal Health from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Phibro Animal Health from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.00.

Phibro Animal Health Company Profile

Phibro Animal Health Corporation operates as an animal health and mineral nutrition company in the United States, Israel, Brazil, Ireland, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Animal Health, Mineral Nutrition, and Performance Products. The company develops, manufactures, and markets various products for food and companion animals including poultry, swine, beef and dairy cattle, aquaculture, and dogs.