Short Interest in Sealed Air Corporation (NYSE:SEE) Expands By 40.5%

Sealed Air Corporation (NYSE:SEE) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 16,793,899 shares, an increase of 40.5% from the March 15th total of 11,955,154 shares. Currently, 11.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,632,849 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days.

Sealed Air Stock Performance

Shares of SEE opened at $42.15 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $41.98 and its 200 day moving average is $40.38. Sealed Air has a fifty-two week low of $23.44 and a fifty-two week high of $44.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Sealed Air (NYSE:SEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.05. Sealed Air had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 47.21%. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. Sealed Air’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Sealed Air will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sealed Air Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Sealed Air’s payout ratio is presently 23.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Sealed Air during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Sealed Air during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Sealed Air during the third quarter worth $27,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Sealed Air by 383.8% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the period. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Sealed Air during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 94.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SEE. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sealed Air in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Sealed Air from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $42.00 price target (down from $45.00) on shares of Sealed Air in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut shares of Sealed Air from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.09.

Sealed Air Company Profile

Sealed Air Corporation is a global packaging company that develops and manufactures a wide range of materials, equipment and services designed to protect, preserve and promote products. Best known for inventing Bubble Wrap® protective packaging, the company serves customers across food and beverage, e-commerce, electronics, manufacturing and healthcare industries. Sealed Air’s solutions help businesses reduce product damage, extend shelf life and improve operational efficiency.

The company’s product portfolio is organized into three primary segments.