Short Interest in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) Drops By 20.5%

Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,050,000 shares, a drop of 20.5% from the February 29th total of 2,580,000 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,700,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Unilever from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Unilever from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $52.00 to $48.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Unilever from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, December 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unilever

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Unilever in the fourth quarter worth $870,000. MONECO Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Unilever in the fourth quarter worth $223,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Unilever in the fourth quarter worth $387,000. Cove Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Unilever in the fourth quarter worth $259,000. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Unilever by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,102 shares of the company's stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 999 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of UL stock traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $50.19. The company had a trading volume of 1,290,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,598,543. Unilever has a 52-week low of $46.16 and a 52-week high of $55.99. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $49.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.76.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.4582 dividend. This represents a $1.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd.

Unilever Company Profile

Unilever PLC operates as a fast-moving consumer goods company in the Asia Pacific, Africa, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through five segments: Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, Nutrition, and Ice Cream. The Beauty & Wellbeing segment engages in the sale of hair care products, such as shampoo, conditioner, and styling; skin care products including face, hand, and body moisturizer; and prestige beauty and health & wellbeing products consist of the vitamins, minerals, and supplements.