Ahold NV (OTCMKTS:ADRNY) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 80.5% in October

Key Points

• Ahold’s short interest surged 80.5% in October to 255,699 shares, though short positions represented 0.0% of shares outstanding and equated to just 0.5 days of average trading volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable but cautious: Ahold has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”, with one Strong Buy and three Hold ratings after Royal Bank of Canada raised its rating to Hold.
• The stock traded up 0.6% to €36.54, while the company’s latest quarterly EPS of €0.74 exceeded estimates of €0.72. Analysts expect full-year EPS of €3.13.

Ahold NV (OTCMKTS:ADRNY - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 255,699 shares, a growth of 80.5% from the September 30th total of 141,660 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 509,861 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.5 days. Currently, 0.0% of the company's shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Royal Bank Of Canada raised Ahold to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ahold currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Ahold Trading Up 0.6%

OTCMKTS:ADRNY opened at €36.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The business's 50-day simple moving average is €36.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is €41.44. Ahold has a fifty-two week low of €32.25 and a fifty-two week high of €50.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.93 billion, a PE ratio of 12.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.41.

Ahold (OTCMKTS:ADRNY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported €0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of €0.72 by €0.02. Ahold had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 2.45%. Sell-side analysts expect that Ahold will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Ahold

Ahold Delhaize is an international food retail and e-commerce company headquartered in Zaandam, the Netherlands. The company operates supermarkets, convenience stores and online grocery businesses, selling fresh food, packaged groceries, household products, health and beauty items, and other consumer goods. Its brands also provide digital ordering, delivery and pickup services in many markets.

The company was formed in 2016 through the merger of Koninklijke Ahold and Delhaize Group. Its retail brands include Albert Heijn, bol, Delhaize, Food Lion, Giant Food, Hannaford, Stop & Shop, Giant Company, and other regional banners.

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