ACCO Brands Co. (NYSE:ACCO) Short Interest Up 32.9% in August

ACCO Brands Co. (NYSE:ACCO) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,100,000 shares, a growth of 32.9% from the August 15th total of 1,580,000 shares. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 591,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Insider Activity at ACCO Brands

In other ACCO Brands news, SVP Pamela R. Schneider sold 19,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.47, for a total transaction of $104,838.02. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 243,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,334,127.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ACCO Brands

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in ACCO Brands by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,772,069 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,381,000 after buying an additional 706,291 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ACCO Brands in the first quarter worth $810,000. Caxton Associates LP raised its position in ACCO Brands by 421.5% during the 1st quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 150,115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $842,000 after purchasing an additional 121,331 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in ACCO Brands by 841.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,232 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 14,507 shares during the period. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in ACCO Brands by 45.8% during the 4th quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 64,739 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 20,350 shares during the period. 84.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ACCO Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:ACCO traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $5.31. 479,386 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 627,563. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.77. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.06. ACCO Brands has a fifty-two week low of $4.36 and a fifty-two week high of $6.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $508.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.62.

ACCO Brands (NYSE:ACCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.06. ACCO Brands had a negative net margin of 10.15% and a positive return on equity of 13.32%. The business had revenue of $438.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $452.73 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. ACCO Brands’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that ACCO Brands will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ACCO Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. ACCO Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -111.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised ACCO Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 10th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $7.00 price target on shares of ACCO Brands in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th.

About ACCO Brands

ACCO Brands Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets consumer, school, technology, and office products. It operates through three segments: ACCO Brands North America, ACCO Brands EMEA, and ACCO Brands International. The company provides computer and gaming accessories, planners, dry erase boards, school notebooks, and janitorial supplies; storage and organization products, such as lever-arch binders, sheet protectors, and indexes; sheet protectors and indexes; laminating, binding, and shredding machines; writing instruments and art products; stapling and punching products; and do-it-yourself tools.