PLDT Inc. (NYSE:PHI) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

PLDT Inc. (NYSE:PHI) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 768,907 shares, an increase of 72.3% from the September 30th total of 446,175 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 294,723 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PLDT

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PHI. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in PLDT by 1.3% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,327,067 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $48,961,000 after purchasing an additional 29,024 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in PLDT by 47.0% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 121,103 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,548,000 after buying an additional 38,731 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in PLDT by 24.4% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 26,494 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 5,205 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its holdings in PLDT by 40.3% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 22,887 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 6,572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in PLDT by 40.8% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 17,926 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 5,197 shares during the last quarter. 2.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PHI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of PLDT from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of PLDT from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of PLDT from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of PLDT in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

PLDT Stock Performance

PLDT stock opened at $17.52 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 7.89, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. PLDT has a 1 year low of $16.71 and a 1 year high of $24.51. The company’s 50-day moving average is $18.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.94.

PLDT Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 27th were issued a $0.7515 dividend. This is a decrease from PLDT’s previous dividend of $0.7977. This represents a yield of 841.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 27th. PLDT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.10%.

About PLDT

PLDT Inc is a Philippine telecommunications and digital services company serving consumers, businesses and government institutions primarily throughout the Philippines. Its operations include fixed-line telephone services, mobile communications, broadband connectivity, wireless data and digital solutions.

Through its wireless subsidiary Smart Communications, PLDT provides mobile voice, messaging, data and broadband services. The company also offers fiber and other fixed broadband services through PLDT Home, while its enterprise business provides connectivity, information and communications technology services, cloud solutions, cybersecurity, data center services and other digital infrastructure offerings.

PLDT traces its origins to 1928, when the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company was established.