Short Interest in Brenntag AG (OTCMKTS:BNTGY) Rises By 335.2%

Key Points

• Short interest in Brenntag rose 335.2% to 10,215 shares as of August 31, though short positions still represented approximately 0.0% of shares outstanding and only 0.5 days of average trading volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: eight analysts rated the stock Hold and one rated it Sell, resulting in a consensus “Reduce” rating and a $12.80 price target.
• Brenntag’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings per share of $0.29 versus a $0.25 estimate and revenue of $4.96 billion compared with $4.66 billion expected.

Brenntag AG (OTCMKTS:BNTGY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 10,215 shares, an increase of 335.2% from the August 15th total of 2,347 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 19,128 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BNTGY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Brenntag in a report on Friday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Brenntag from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. DZ Bank upgraded Brenntag from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Brenntag from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $12.80.

Brenntag Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of OTCMKTS:BNTGY opened at $13.95 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.25. Brenntag has a 12-month low of $10.19 and a 12-month high of $14.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.64 and a beta of 0.63.

Brenntag (OTCMKTS:BNTGY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.04. Brenntag had a net margin of 2.41% and a return on equity of 8.34%. The business had revenue of $4.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.66 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Brenntag will post 0.85 EPS for the current year.

Brenntag Company Profile

Brenntag SE is a Germany-based chemical distribution company that supplies industrial and specialty chemicals to customers in a broad range of industries. Its product portfolio includes solvents, acids, gases, solvents, additives, and other chemical raw materials used in sectors such as manufacturing, water treatment, food and nutrition, pharmaceuticals, personal care, agriculture, and energy.

The company operates through two principal business areas: Essentials, which focuses on widely used industrial chemicals, and Specialties, which provides higher-value chemicals and application-specific solutions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.