ACCO Brands Co. (NYSE:ACCO) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

ACCO Brands Co. (NYSE:ACCO) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,450,000 shares, a decrease of 31.9% from the October 31st total of 2,130,000 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 589,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Institutional Trading of ACCO Brands

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in ACCO Brands during the first quarter valued at approximately $166,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in ACCO Brands by 3.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 118,786 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $667,000 after buying an additional 3,811 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its stake in ACCO Brands by 99,188.6% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 43,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 43,643 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ACCO Brands in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $149,000. Finally, Somerset Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of ACCO Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACCO has been the subject of several research reports. Barrington Research increased their price objective on shares of ACCO Brands from $7.00 to $7.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of ACCO Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 10th.

ACCO Brands Stock Up 0.2 %

ACCO traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $5.82. 262,205 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 624,220. ACCO Brands has a 1-year low of $4.36 and a 1-year high of $6.62. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $5.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.15. The stock has a market cap of $540.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.07, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

ACCO Brands (NYSE:ACCO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.23. ACCO Brands had a negative net margin of 10.64% and a positive return on equity of 14.30%. The business had revenue of $420.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $418.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that ACCO Brands will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ACCO Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. ACCO Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently -15.87%.

ACCO Brands Company Profile

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.