Interface, Inc. (NASDAQ:TILE) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest surged 41.5% in March to 3,951,969 shares (about 7.0% of the stock) with a short-interest ratio of 4.4 days as of March 31.
• Quarterly results beat EPS estimates — Interface reported $0.49 EPS vs. $0.40 expected and revenue of $349.39M (up 4.3% YoY), and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.03 (annualized $0.12, ~0.4% yield).
• Insiders have been net sellers (VP James Poppens sold 10,000 shares; 25,650 shares sold in the last 90 days), insiders own 2.47% of shares while institutional investors/hedge funds own ~98.34%.

Interface, Inc. (NASDAQ:TILE - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 3,951,969 shares, an increase of 41.5% from the March 15th total of 2,793,133 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 898,041 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.4 days. Approximately 7.0% of the company's stock are sold short.

Interface Stock Performance

TILE traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $27.62. 483,866 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 789,312. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company's fifty day moving average price is $28.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.44. Interface has a 52-week low of $17.72 and a 52-week high of $35.11.

Interface (NASDAQ:TILE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The textile maker reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $349.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $350.54 million. Interface had a net margin of 8.37% and a return on equity of 19.54%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Interface will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

Interface Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 27th were paid a $0.03 dividend. This is a positive change from Interface's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 27th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Interface's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP James Poppens sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.42, for a total value of $294,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 119,496 shares in the company, valued at $3,515,572.32. The trade was a 7.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,650 shares of company stock valued at $736,292. 2.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Interface

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TILE. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Interface by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 19,657 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Interface by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,118 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,485 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Interface by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 748,701 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $14,854,000 after purchasing an additional 42,011 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Interface by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 151,950 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $3,015,000 after purchasing an additional 9,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Interface by 24.7% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 201,630 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $4,220,000 after purchasing an additional 39,941 shares in the last quarter. 98.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Interface from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Interface from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Barrington Research boosted their target price on shares of Interface from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Interface from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.00.

Interface Company Profile

Interface, Inc NASDAQ: TILE is a global manufacturer of modular flooring and resilient commercial flooring solutions. The company specializes in carpet tiles, luxury vinyl tile (LVT) and other environmentally responsible hard-surface products designed for use in corporate, education, healthcare, hospitality and retail environments. Interface's portfolio also includes broadloom carpet, rubber flooring and acoustic underlays, all engineered to meet performance, design and sustainability requirements in modern interior spaces.

Founded in 1973 by Ray C.

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