Public Policy Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPHC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest surged 139.8% to 545,427 shares as of September 30, representing 2.1% of PPHC’s outstanding stock and 1.2 days of average trading volume.
• PPHC shares opened at $10.59, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $0.34 on $52.14 million in revenue. Analysts expect $0.50 in full-year EPS, but the company posted a negative net margin of 18.85%.
• The company declared a $0.1170 dividend, listed as a 212% yield with a 209.09% payout ratio. Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with an average “Hold” rating and a $17 price target.

Public Policy Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPHC - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 545,427 shares, an increase of 139.8% from the September 15th total of 227,472 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 437,444 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days. Currently, 2.1% of the company's stock are short sold.

Public Policy Stock Down 4.9%

Public Policy stock opened at $10.59 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Public Policy has a 1-year low of $7.01 and a 1-year high of $15.15. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $11.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.03. The company has a market capitalization of $321.94 million and a P/E ratio of 96.27.

Public Policy (NASDAQ:PPHC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $52.14 million during the quarter. Public Policy had a negative net margin of 18.85% and a negative return on equity of 0.26%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Public Policy will post 0.50 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Public Policy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 25th will be given a $0.1170 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 25th. This represents a dividend yield of 212.0%. Public Policy's payout ratio is currently 209.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PPHC. Wall Street Zen upgraded Public Policy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Public Policy in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (e)" rating on shares of Public Policy in a report on Monday, September 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $17.00.

Institutional Trading of Public Policy

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Public Policy stock. State Street Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Public Policy Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPHC - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 50,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $375,000. State Street Corp owned about 0.17% of Public Policy as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Public Policy Company Profile

Public Policy Holding Company, Inc NASDAQ: PPHC is a public affairs and government relations company that provides strategic advisory, lobbying, communications and public policy services to organizations operating in the United States. The company works with businesses, trade associations, nonprofit organizations and other institutions seeking to understand and engage with government and regulatory processes.

PPHC operates through a portfolio of specialized public policy and communications firms.

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