Farmer Brothers Company (NASDAQ:FARM) Short Interest Update

Farmer Brothers Company (NASDAQ:FARM) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 369,061 shares, a growth of 375.0% from the March 15th total of 77,691 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 289,260 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on FARM. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Farmer Brothers in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Farmer Brothers from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.75.

Farmer Brothers Stock Performance

Shares of Farmer Brothers stock opened at $1.25 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $1.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a market cap of $27.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.45 and a beta of 1.17. Farmer Brothers has a one year low of $1.21 and a one year high of $2.48.

Farmer Brothers (NASDAQ:FARM) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $88.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.47 million. Farmer Brothers had a negative return on equity of 30.38% and a negative net margin of 5.51%. On average, research analysts predict that Farmer Brothers will post -0.37 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Farmer Brothers

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake in Farmer Brothers by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 787,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,149,000 after acquiring an additional 7,500 shares during the last quarter. Teton Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Farmer Brothers during the third quarter worth $537,000. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in Farmer Brothers by 2.3% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 272,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC grew its stake in shares of Farmer Brothers by 43.5% in the third quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC now owns 218,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 66,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Farmer Brothers by 253.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 68,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,000 after buying an additional 49,374 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.48% of the company’s stock.

About Farmer Brothers

Farmer Brothers Company (NASDAQ: FARM) is a specialty coffee roaster and distributor that serves the foodservice, hospitality and office coffee markets across the United States. The company produces and delivers coffee, tea, single-serve products and beverage equipment, supporting its customers with supply chain solutions, equipment maintenance and barista training services. Its operations are organized to serve commercial accounts ranging from national restaurant chains and convenience stores to independent coffee shops and corporate offices.

Founded in 1912 in Texas, Farmer Brothers has grown from a regional roaster into a national supplier with a network of manufacturing and distribution facilities.