Hennes & Mauritz AB (OTCMKTS:HNNMY) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 162.0% in September

Key Points

• Short interest surged 162% in September to 131,894 shares, though short positions still represented approximately 0.0% of H&M’s outstanding stock and only 0.2 days of average trading volume.
• H&M shares fell 2.5% to $3.20, near the lower end of their 52-week range of $3.07 to $4.25. The company has a $22.45 billion market capitalization and trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81.
• The retailer matched analysts’ quarterly EPS estimate of $0.05 and exceeded revenue expectations with $5.98 billion, but analyst sentiment remained cautious: four firms rated the stock Hold and three rated it Sell, producing an overall “Reduce” rating.

Hennes & Mauritz AB (OTCMKTS:HNNMY - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 131,894 shares, an increase of 162.0% from the September 15th total of 50,348 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 723,375 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.2 days.

Hennes & Mauritz Stock Down 2.5%

Hennes & Mauritz stock traded down $0.08 during trading on Monday, reaching $3.20. The stock had a trading volume of 112,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 174,730. Hennes & Mauritz has a 52-week low of $3.07 and a 52-week high of $4.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $3.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $22.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81 and a beta of 1.17.

Hennes & Mauritz (OTCMKTS:HNNMY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 23rd. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.05. Hennes & Mauritz had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 33.70%. The company had revenue of $5.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.84 billion. On average, analysts predict that Hennes & Mauritz will post 0.17 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on HNNMY shares. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Hennes & Mauritz in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Pareto Securities downgraded Hennes & Mauritz to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Hennes & Mauritz from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hennes & Mauritz currently has an average rating of "Reduce".

Hennes & Mauritz Company Profile

Hennes & Mauritz AB, commonly known as H&M, is a Sweden-based fashion and retail company that sells clothing, accessories, footwear, beauty products and home furnishings. Its offerings are marketed through physical stores and digital sales channels, with products designed for women, men, teenagers and children.

Founded in 1947 by Erling Persson as a women's clothing store called Hennes, the company later expanded into menswear and became Hennes & Mauritz following the acquisition of Mauritz Widforss in 1968.

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