Short Interest in Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE:SSTK) Increases By 41.0%

Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE:SSTK) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 2,556,659 shares, an increase of 41.0% from the February 12th total of 1,812,600 shares. Currently, 10.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 636,013 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 636,013 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days. Currently, 10.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Shutterstock Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of SSTK traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $16.07. The company had a trading volume of 243,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 463,492. The stock has a market cap of $571.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.02. Shutterstock has a fifty-two week low of $14.35 and a fifty-two week high of $29.50.

Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The business services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.38). Shutterstock had a return on equity of 16.13% and a net margin of 4.60%.The firm had revenue of $220.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $252.28 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Shutterstock will post 3.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Shutterstock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. This is an increase from Shutterstock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Shutterstock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 111.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shutterstock

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. WealthCollab LLC raised its stake in shares of Shutterstock by 106.3% during the second quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 1,452 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Shutterstock by 150.6% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management purchased a new stake in Shutterstock during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Shutterstock by 31.5% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,951 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Shutterstock by 72.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,297 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 1,388 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on SSTK. Zacks Research raised shares of Shutterstock from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Shutterstock in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.00.

Shutterstock Company Profile

Shutterstock, Inc (NYSE:SSTK) operates a leading global creative platform that provides royalty-free stock content to businesses, marketing agencies and media outlets. Its primary offerings include high-resolution photographs, vector graphics, illustrations, video footage and music tracks, all available through subscription plans or on-demand licensing. The platform also features customizable design tools and collaborative workspaces that enable customers to create and manage visual content more efficiently.

Founded in 2003 by Jon Oringer, Shutterstock began as an online marketplace offering a modest selection of images and quickly scaled its library to hundreds of millions of assets.