Short Interest in Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) Expands By 6.3%

Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,740,000 shares, a growth of 6.3% from the February 29th total of 13,860,000 shares. Currently, 7.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,740,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CPB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup started coverage on Campbell Soup in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “sell” rating and a $41.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Campbell Soup in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. TheStreet raised Campbell Soup from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. DA Davidson started coverage on Campbell Soup in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on Campbell Soup in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Campbell Soup currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.38.

Campbell Soup Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of CPB traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $44.42. 2,466,655 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,799,120. The company has a market cap of $13.24 billion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.24. Campbell Soup has a 52 week low of $37.94 and a 52 week high of $56.04. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 6th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.44 billion. Campbell Soup had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 23.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Campbell Soup will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Campbell Soup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Campbell Soup

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CPB. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 29.8% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 29,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,299,000 after buying an additional 6,692 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 60.0% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 20,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $932,000 after buying an additional 7,819 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC grew its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 31.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 11,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $491,000 after buying an additional 2,628 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 22.7% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 54,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,445,000 after buying an additional 10,144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 6.8% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 319,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,235,000 after buying an additional 20,335 shares in the last quarter. 52.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Campbell Soup

Campbell Soup Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets food and beverage products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Meals & Beverages and Snacks segments. The Meals & Beverages segment engages in the retail and foodservice businesses in the United States and Canada.