Primo Water Co. (NYSE:PRMW) Short Interest Update

Primo Water Co. (NYSE:PRMW) was the recipient of 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 days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Primo Water Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:PRMW opened at $27.60 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.44 billion, a PE ratio of 17.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $24.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.32. Primo Water has a 12-month low of $12.92 and a 12-month high of $28.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Primo Water (NYSE:PRMW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.02. Primo Water had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 12.61%. The company had revenue of $485.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $477.40 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. Primo Water’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Primo Water will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Primo Water Dividend Announcement

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 is Tuesday, November 5th. Primo Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James cut Primo Water from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Primo Water from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 13th. William Blair began coverage on Primo Water in a research report on Thursday. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Primo Water in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.83.

Institutional Trading of Primo Water

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Primo Water by 375.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Primo Water during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Primo Water by 52.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Primo Water during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Primo Water by 31.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 792 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.71% of the company’s stock.

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.