Associated British Foods PLC (OTCMKTS:ASBFY) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest surged 1,012.3% to 19,554 shares as of October 15, up from 1,758 shares at the end of September. Despite the increase, short interest represents 0.0% of shares outstanding and equates to just 0.2 days to cover.
• Analyst sentiment is strongly negative: Zacks downgraded the stock to “strong sell,” while Kepler Capital Markets lowered its rating to “hold.” Overall, two analysts rate Associated British Foods a Hold and four rate it a Sell.
• The shares rose 0.5% to $26.36, near their 50-day and 200-day moving averages of roughly $26.00, but remain below the 52-week high of $31.11.

Associated British Foods PLC (OTCMKTS:ASBFY - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 19,554 shares, a growth of 1,012.3% from the September 30th total of 1,758 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 104,678 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.2 days. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASBFY has been the subject of several research reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Associated British Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Kepler Capital Markets cut shares of Associated British Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Associated British Foods currently has an average rating of "Strong Sell".

Associated British Foods Trading Up 0.5%

OTCMKTS:ASBFY traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $26.36. 46,015 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 110,125. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $26.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Associated British Foods has a fifty-two week low of $23.36 and a fifty-two week high of $31.11.

About Associated British Foods

Associated British Foods plc is a diversified international food, ingredients and retail company headquartered in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1935, the group operates through five principal businesses: grocery, ingredients, sugar, agriculture and retail.

Its grocery operations produce branded and private-label foods, including bread, cereals, cooking ingredients, condiments, teas and other packaged products. The ingredients business supplies specialty ingredients such as yeast, enzymes, bakery products and savory solutions to food manufacturers.

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