Short Interest in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) Expands By 23.3%

Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 23,373,932 shares, an increase of 23.3% from the January 15th total of 18,958,988 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 12,517,652 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 12,517,652 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $160.11 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $147.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.47. Procter & Gamble has a fifty-two week low of $137.62 and a fifty-two week high of $179.99. The firm has a market cap of $372.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.72, a P/E/G ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.36 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.21% and a net margin of 19.30%.The business’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. Procter & Gamble has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.830-7.090 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 23rd will be issued a $1.0568 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Procter & Gamble’s payout ratio is 62.67%.

Insider Activity

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Marc S. Pritchard sold 95,903 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.15, for a total transaction of $14,495,738.45. Following the transaction, the insider owned 182,607 shares in the company, valued at $27,601,048.05. The trade was a 34.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ma. Fatima Francisco sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.00, for a total value of $1,264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,038,218. The trade was a 54.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 326,091 shares of company stock worth $51,795,360 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Procter & Gamble

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PG. Tobias Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Procter & Gamble in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $274,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 74.5% during the 4th quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 4,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070 shares during the period. Trustco Bank Corp N Y boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Trustco Bank Corp N Y now owns 16,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,345,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. TritonPoint Partners LLC bought a new position in Procter & Gamble during the 4th quarter worth $376,000. Finally, USS Investment Management Ltd increased its position in Procter & Gamble by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,083,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,228,000 after buying an additional 100,418 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Procter & Gamble from $176.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Procter & Gamble from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $167.67.

About Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the world’s largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide.

P&G’s product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.