Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Raises Position in The ODP Co. (NASDAQ:ODP)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in The ODP Co. (NASDAQ:ODP) by 169.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 89,269 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,080 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in ODP were worth $5,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of ODP by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 44,619 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,045,000 after acquiring an additional 2,046 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in ODP by 9.7% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,052 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in ODP by 40.6% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 24,211 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,110,000 after purchasing an additional 6,986 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in ODP during the first quarter worth approximately $220,000. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its holdings in shares of ODP by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 39,569 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,813,000 after purchasing an additional 4,878 shares during the last quarter. 99.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at ODP

In other ODP news, CFO Diego Anthony Scaglione sold 25,000 shares of ODP stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $1,375,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 96,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,285,720. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised ODP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. TheStreet downgraded ODP from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.00.

ODP Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ ODP opened at $49.38 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.13. The company has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.62. The ODP Co. has a 12-month low of $39.36 and a 12-month high of $58.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

ODP (NASDAQ:ODP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The specialty retailer reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.16. ODP had a net margin of 1.77% and a return on equity of 19.45%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that The ODP Co. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ODP announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 28th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to purchase up to 48.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

ODP Profile

The ODP Corporation provides business services and supplies, products, and digital workplace technology solutions for small, medium, and enterprise businesses in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company operates through four divisions: ODP Business Solutions, Office Depot, Veyer, and Varis.