Short Interest in Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) Expands By 16.9%

Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,290,000 shares, an increase of 16.9% from the April 30th total of 10,510,000 shares. Currently, 7.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.4 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pitney Bowes

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Pitney Bowes by 130.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,078 shares of the technology company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 2,873 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV acquired a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes in the 1st quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes in the 1st quarter worth approximately $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.88% of the company's stock.

Pitney Bowes Price Performance

Shares of PBI stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $10.52. The stock had a trading volume of 1,651,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,137,771. Pitney Bowes has a twelve month low of $4.62 and a twelve month high of $11.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a PE ratio of -9.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.61.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.05. Pitney Bowes had a negative net margin of 7.71% and a negative return on equity of 20.95%. The business had revenue of $493.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $498.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.01) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Pitney Bowes will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Pitney Bowes Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This is a boost from Pitney Bowes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. Pitney Bowes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -30.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PBI shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pitney Bowes from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Sidoti raised shares of Pitney Bowes to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th.

About Pitney Bowes

Pitney Bowes Inc, a shipping and mailing company, provides technology, logistics, and financial services to small and medium-sized businesses, large enterprises, retailers, and government clients in the United States and internationally. It operates through Global Ecommerce, Presort Services, and SendTech Solutions segments.