Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT) Short Interest Update

Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,410,000 shares, an increase of 8.3% from the June 30th total of 3,150,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 648,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.3 days. Approximately 3.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Avnet from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avnet presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Ken E. Arnold sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.34, for a total value of $434,720.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,186,587.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Philip R. Gallagher sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.74, for a total value of $1,612,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 139,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,507,961.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Ken E. Arnold sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.34, for a total value of $434,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,186,587.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,532 shares of company stock worth $3,544,957. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avnet

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AVT. Lind Value II ApS purchased a new position in Avnet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $62,394,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Avnet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,065,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Avnet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,601,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Avnet by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,950,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $542,918,000 after purchasing an additional 519,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP increased its stake in Avnet by 584.1% in the 1st quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 320,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,915,000 after purchasing an additional 274,071 shares in the last quarter. 95.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avnet Stock Performance

Shares of AVT stock traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $53.08. 219,539 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 601,439. The company has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.58 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50 day moving average is $52.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.63. Avnet has a 1 year low of $42.67 and a 1 year high of $55.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Avnet (NASDAQ:AVT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $5.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. Avnet had a return on equity of 11.64% and a net margin of 2.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Avnet will post 5.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avnet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 5th. Avnet’s payout ratio is currently 20.06%.

Avnet Company Profile

Avnet, Inc, distributes electronic component technology. The company operates through two segments, Electronic Components and Farnell. The Electronic Components segment markets, sells, and distributes semiconductors; interconnect, passive, and electromechanical components; and other integrated components from electronic component manufacturers.