Japan Tob (OTCMKTS:JAPAY) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Down 40.8% in October

Japan Tob (OTCMKTS:JAPAY) saw a significant drop in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 58,181 shares, a drop of 40.8% from the September 30th total of 98,198 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 132,910 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on JAPAY. Zacks Research raised shares of Japan Tob from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. BTIG Research started coverage on Japan Tob in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Japan Tob presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.00.

Japan Tob Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of Japan Tob stock traded up $0.44 on Monday, reaching $23.38. 25,142 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 124,070. The company has a market cap of $83.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $22.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.97. Japan Tob has a 1-year low of $16.74 and a 1-year high of $24.54.

Japan Tob (OTCMKTS:JAPAY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $6.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Japan Tob will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

About Japan Tob

Japan Tobacco Inc is a Japan-based company engaged primarily in the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Its portfolio includes cigarettes, heated tobacco products and other reduced-risk products, marketed under brands such as Winston, Camel, Mevius and LD in various markets.

The company also operates businesses in pharmaceutical products and processed foods. Its pharmaceutical operations focus on prescription medicines, while its food business provides products including frozen foods, seasonings and other processed food items.

Japan Tobacco traces its history to Japan’s former tobacco monopoly and was established in its current corporate form in 1985.