Entravision Communications Corporation (NYSE:EVC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Entravision Communications Corporation (NYSE:EVC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 4,416,873 shares, an increase of 76.1% from the May 14th total of 2,508,368 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,300,382 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days. Currently, 5.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Entravision Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EVC traded down $0.47 during trading on Monday, hitting $9.20. The company had a trading volume of 2,496,443 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,434,939. The company has a market cap of $845.60 million, a P/E ratio of -41.80 and a beta of 1.81. Entravision Communications has a 52 week low of $1.95 and a 52 week high of $10.12. The business’s 50-day moving average is $6.44 and its 200 day moving average is $4.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Entravision Communications (NYSE:EVC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.03. Entravision Communications had a negative net margin of 3.41% and a negative return on equity of 25.31%. The company had revenue of $196.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.49 million.

Entravision Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Entravision Communications’s payout ratio is -90.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Entravision Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Entravision Communications in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Entravision Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Sell”.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Alexandra Seros sold 427,991 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.17, for a total transaction of $3,924,677.47. Following the sale, the insider owned 6,823,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,568,184.63. The trade was a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 4,497,004 shares of company stock worth $35,936,071 over the last quarter. 8.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Entravision Communications

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Entravision Communications by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,336,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,773,000 after purchasing an additional 36,503 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Entravision Communications by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,413,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,142,000 after purchasing an additional 9,597 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Entravision Communications by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 998,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,327,000 after purchasing an additional 35,391 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Entravision Communications by 59.5% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 775,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,272,000 after purchasing an additional 289,451 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in Entravision Communications by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 601,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,761,000 after purchasing an additional 13,226 shares during the period. 69.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entravision Communications Company Profile

Entravision Communications Corporation (NYSE: EVC) is a diversified Spanish-language media and advertising company headquartered in Santa Monica, California. The company develops and distributes multimedia content tailored to Hispanic audiences across the United States, leveraging a combination of traditional broadcasting and digital platforms to reach consumers and marketers seeking to engage this fast-growing demographic.

In its broadcasting segment, Entravision owns and operates more than 50 television stations affiliated primarily with leading Spanish-language networks, as well as over 40 radio stations in key U.S.