Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Co. (NYSE:BAH) Short Interest Up 10.6% in July

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Co. (NYSE:BAH) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,880,000 shares, a growth of 10.6% from the July 15th total of 1,700,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 762,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Booz Allen Hamilton Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:BAH traded up $1.02 on Monday, hitting $148.69. 218,462 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 678,288. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $151.64 and its 200 day moving average is $149.13. The company has a market capitalization of $19.23 billion, a PE ratio of 32.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.57. Booz Allen Hamilton has a 1-year low of $106.90 and a 1-year high of $164.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.55.

Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE:BAH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. Booz Allen Hamilton had a return on equity of 65.80% and a net margin of 5.57%. Sell-side analysts predict that Booz Allen Hamilton will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Booz Allen Hamilton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Booz Allen Hamilton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Booz Allen Hamilton

In other Booz Allen Hamilton news, Director Melody C. Barnes sold 1,041 shares of Booz Allen Hamilton stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.31, for a total value of $149,185.71. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,123 shares in the company, valued at $2,597,207.13. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Melody C. Barnes sold 1,041 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.31, for a total value of $149,185.71. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,123 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,597,207.13. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Matthew Calderone sold 332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.15, for a total value of $51,177.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,612,967.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,296 shares of company stock worth $9,119,212 over the last quarter. 1.59% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Booz Allen Hamilton

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Booz Allen Hamilton by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,406,880 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,544,798,000 after purchasing an additional 222,884 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Booz Allen Hamilton by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 4,252,168 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $631,192,000 after acquiring an additional 22,708 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. raised its stake in Booz Allen Hamilton by 63.4% during the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,750,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $269,419,000 after acquiring an additional 679,280 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Booz Allen Hamilton by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,672,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,469,000 after acquiring an additional 96,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Booz Allen Hamilton during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $188,129,000. 91.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Booz Allen Hamilton from $136.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Booz Allen Hamilton from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Booz Allen Hamilton from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Booz Allen Hamilton from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Booz Allen Hamilton from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $168.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Booz Allen Hamilton presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.56.

Booz Allen Hamilton Company Profile

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation provides management and technology consulting, analytics, engineering, digital solutions, mission operations, and cyber services to governments, corporations, and not-for-profit organizations in the United States and internationally. It focuses on artificial intelligence services comprising of machine learning, predictive modeling, automation and decision analytics, and quantum computing.