Graham Holdings (NYSE:GHC) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Graham Holdings (NYSE:GHC) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 45,900 shares, a decrease of 8.4% from the June 30th total of 50,100 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 18,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Graham from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th.

Graham Trading Down 4.4 %

GHC stock traded down $34.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $740.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 22,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,096. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $735.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $730.63. Graham has a 1 year low of $563.39 and a 1 year high of $822.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 1.12.

Graham (NYSE:GHC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $11.24 earnings per share for the quarter. Graham had a return on equity of 5.39% and a net margin of 6.12%. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter.

Graham Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 18th will be paid a $1.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 18th. This represents a $6.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. Graham’s payout ratio is 11.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Anne M. Mulcahy acquired 135 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $745.07 per share, with a total value of $100,584.45. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $493,236.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 20.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Graham

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Insight Inv LLC grew its position in shares of Graham by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,001,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Graham by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Graham by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Graham by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its position in shares of Graham by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 545 shares of the company’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.54% of the company’s stock.

About Graham

Graham Holdings Company, through its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified education and media company in the United States and internationally. It provides test preparation services and materials; professional training and exam preparation for professional certifications and licensures; and non-academic operations support services to the Purdue University Global; operations support services for online courses and programs; training and test preparation services for accounting and financial services professionals; English-language training, academic preparation programs, and test preparation for English proficiency exams; and A-level examination preparation services, as well as operates colleges, business school, higher education institution, and an online learning institution.