PLDT Inc. (NYSE:PHI) Short Interest Down 26.1% in March

Key Points

• Short interest fell 26.1% to 166,786 shares as of March 31, lowering the days-to-cover ratio to about 0.5 and leaving roughly 0.1% of shares sold short.
• PLDT announced a dividend of $0.7977 payable April 30 to shareholders of record March 25 (ex-dividend date March 25); the article reports a 746.0% yield, which appears anomalously high.
• Analysts maintain a consensus Hold rating (three analysts), and PLDT recently reported $0.67 EPS on $906M revenue, with a P/E of 8.5 and a market cap of $4.44 billion.

PLDT Inc. (NYSE:PHI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 166,786 shares, a decrease of 26.1% from the March 15th total of 225,844 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 308,480 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.5 days. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of PLDT in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PLDT currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

PLDT Price Performance

PHI traded down $0.08 on Wednesday, hitting $20.57. 107,568 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 212,570. PLDT has a 12 month low of $18.61 and a 12 month high of $24.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $22.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.50 and a beta of 0.71.

PLDT (NYSE:PHI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The technology company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $905.99 million during the quarter. PLDT had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 28.11%. Sell-side analysts forecast that PLDT will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PLDT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be issued a $0.7977 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a dividend yield of 746.0%. PLDT's dividend payout ratio is 47.93%.

Insider Transactions at PLDT

In other PLDT news, Director Alfredo Santos Panlilio sold 4,505 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.64, for a total value of $101,993.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $67,920. This trade represents a 60.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new position in shares of PLDT in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of PLDT by 272.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,306 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 955 shares during the period. Arax Advisory Partners increased its stake in shares of PLDT by 429.4% in the fourth quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 1,710 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,387 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of PLDT by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,590 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of PLDT by 155.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,069 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 1,866 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 2.26% of the company's stock.

PLDT Company Profile

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) is the largest integrated telecommunications provider in the Philippines, offering a comprehensive suite of fixed‐line, wireless, broadband Internet, and digital solutions to residential, enterprise, and government customers. Founded in 1928, PLDT has played a pivotal role in the development of the country's communications infrastructure, evolving from a traditional operator of long‐distance telephone lines into a diversified digital services provider.

PLDT operates two main business segments: its fixed‐line and broadband operations under the PLDT brand and its wireless services through subsidiary Smart Communications.

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