Edgewell Personal Care Company (NYSE:EPC) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 35.7% to 6,026,868 shares as of March 31, equal to about 13.3% of the float and a short-interest ratio of 6.8 days based on average daily volume.
• Analysts are mixed with a MarketBeat consensus of "Hold" and a $24.17 price target (3 Buys, 4 Holds, 1 Sell), while recent firm notes ranged from price-target upgrades to downgrades.
• Shares traded up 4.1% to $23.31; quarterly EPS was -$0.16 (beat by $0.02) with revenue below estimates, the company set FY2026 guidance of 1.700–2.100 EPS, and it pays a $0.15 quarterly dividend (≈2.6% yield).

Edgewell Personal Care Company (NYSE:EPC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 6,026,868 shares, a growth of 35.7% from the March 15th total of 4,439,728 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 884,907 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.8 days. Approximately 13.3% of the company's stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EPC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $24.00 target price on shares of Edgewell Personal Care in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Edgewell Personal Care from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Barclays upped their price target on Edgewell Personal Care from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Zacks Research raised Edgewell Personal Care from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Edgewell Personal Care in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $24.17.

Edgewell Personal Care Stock Up 4.1%

NYSE:EPC traded up $0.93 on Friday, reaching $23.31. 56,600 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 721,709. The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.35 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Edgewell Personal Care has a 12 month low of $15.88 and a 12 month high of $31.04. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $21.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.48.

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.02. Edgewell Personal Care had a negative net margin of 1.76% and a positive return on equity of 7.16%. The firm had revenue of $422.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $476.48 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.07 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Edgewell Personal Care has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.700-2.100 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Edgewell Personal Care will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Edgewell Personal Care Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Edgewell Personal Care's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -70.59%.

Institutional Trading of Edgewell Personal Care

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EPC. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Edgewell Personal Care during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,290,000. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. raised its holdings in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 80.8% during the third quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. now owns 199,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,055,000 after purchasing an additional 89,000 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Edgewell Personal Care by 197.3% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 46,441 shares of the company's stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 30,820 shares during the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP lifted its position in Edgewell Personal Care by 30.1% during the third quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 445,432 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,069,000 after purchasing an additional 103,095 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Edgewell Personal Care in the third quarter worth approximately $1,235,000. Institutional investors own 91.91% of the company's stock.

About Edgewell Personal Care

Edgewell Personal Care Inc, incorporated in 2015 and headquartered in Shelton, Connecticut, is a global consumer products company specializing in personal care, sun care, shaving and feminine care solutions. The company emerged as a spin-off from Energizer Holdings' personal care division, listing its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “EPC.” Edgewell's portfolio comprises well-known brands that cater to everyday personal grooming and protection needs.

In the shaving segment, Edgewell markets razors and refill blades under brands such as Schick and Wilkinson Sword, targeting both men's and women's grooming categories.

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