PLDT Inc. (NYSE:PHI) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

PLDT Inc. (NYSE:PHI) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 210,700 shares, a drop of 21.6% from the September 15th total of 268,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 23,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered PLDT from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th.

PLDT Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PHI traded down $0.60 during trading on Monday, reaching $26.16. The company had a trading volume of 20,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 51,171. PLDT has a 52 week low of $21.34 and a 52 week high of $30.39. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $27.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.48. The stock has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 10.10, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.33.

PLDT (NYSE:PHI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The technology company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter. PLDT had a net margin of 12.33% and a return on equity of 21.49%. The business had revenue of $923.00 million during the quarter. Analysts expect that PLDT will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

PLDT Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.634 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a dividend yield of 4.4%. This is an increase from PLDT’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.60.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PLDT

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in PLDT by 337.8% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 37,877 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $934,000 after acquiring an additional 29,225 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of PLDT by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 67,897 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 11,847 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PLDT in the 1st quarter worth $258,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of PLDT by 10.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 93,479 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,296,000 after purchasing an additional 9,206 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in PLDT by 392.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,709 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 3,753 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.26% of the company’s stock.

PLDT Company Profile

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.