Brenntag AG (OTCMKTS:BNTGY) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Brenntag AG experienced a significant increase in short interest in July, rising by 400% to 500 shares, although this constitutes just 0.0% of total shares sold short.
• The company reported earnings of $0.20 per share for its last quarter, missing estimates by $0.04, while analysts expect an EPS of 0.9 for the current year.
• Brenntag has raised its dividend to $0.2696 per share, reflecting a yield of 2%, which is a significant increase from its previous dividend of $0.05.

Brenntag AG (OTCMKTS:BNTGY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 500 shares, anincreaseof400.0% from the June 30th total of 100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 36,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.0 days. Currently,0.0% of the company's stock are short sold. Currently,0.0% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 36,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.0 days.

Brenntag Stock Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS:BNTGY traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $12.35. The stock had a trading volume of 32,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,216. Brenntag has a 1 year low of $11.09 and a 1 year high of $15.07. The firm's 50 day moving average is $13.26 and its 200-day moving average is $13.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.63 and a beta of 0.83.

Brenntag (OTCMKTS:BNTGY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.04). Brenntag had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 11.47%. Analysts forecast that Brenntag will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Brenntag Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 26th were given a $0.2696 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a dividend yield of 200.0%. This is a boost from Brenntag's previous dividend of $0.05. Brenntag's payout ratio is currently 35.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BNTGY. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Brenntag from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Brenntag from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brenntag has an average rating of "Hold".

About Brenntag

Brenntag SE purchases and supplies various industrial and specialty chemicals, and ingredients in Germany, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Brenntag Essentials and Brenntag Specialties. It provides just-in-time delivery, product mixing, blending, repackaging, inventory management, and drum return handling.