GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Short Interest Up 31.7% in February

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 18,510,000 shares, an increase of 31.7% from the February 13th total of 14,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,770,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

GSK Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE GSK traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $40.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,184,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,992,411. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $36.18 and a 200 day moving average of $36.99. GSK has a twelve month low of $31.72 and a twelve month high of $45.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.32, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 48.59%. Equities research analysts forecast that GSK will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.3932 dividend. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of GSK in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GSK

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co increased its stake in GSK by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 750 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in GSK in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in GSK by 195.5% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of GSK by 73.8% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of GSK during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Company Profile

GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, and manufacture of vaccines, and specialty and general medicines to prevent and treat disease in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Commercial Operations and Total R&D.