PLDT Inc. (NYSE:PHI) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

PLDT Inc. (NYSE:PHI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 209,900 shares, a growth of 33.7% from the February 28th total of 157,000 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 69,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days.

PLDT Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PHI traded down $0.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.29. The stock had a trading volume of 112,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 48,957. The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.60. PLDT has a twelve month low of $21.00 and a twelve month high of $29.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 8.13, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.86.

PLDT (NYSE:PHI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The technology company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $960.62 million during the quarter. PLDT had a return on equity of 22.11% and a net margin of 12.34%. Research analysts predict that PLDT will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PLDT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.812 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. PLDT's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.66%.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of PLDT from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th.

Institutional Trading of PLDT

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in PLDT by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,536,883 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $34,042,000 after purchasing an additional 254,110 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of PLDT by 1,189.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 138,992 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,079,000 after buying an additional 128,213 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in PLDT by 655.5% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 105,364 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,334,000 after acquiring an additional 91,418 shares during the period. Allianz SE purchased a new position in PLDT during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $906,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in PLDT by 40.7% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 113,316 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,510,000 after acquiring an additional 32,791 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.26% of the company's stock.

About PLDT

PLDT Inc provides telecommunications and digital services in the Philippines. The company operates through three segments: Wireless, Fixed Line, and Others. It offers cellular mobile, Internet broadband distribution, operations support, software development, and satellite information and messaging services; and sells Wi-Fi access equipment.