Sealed Air Corporation (NYSE:SEE) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest surged 40.5% in March to 16,793,899 shares (about 11.4% of shares sold short), with a days-to-cover ratio of 4.6 based on average daily volume.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but tilted positive: the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with a $44.09 average price target (seven Buys vs. five Holds and several recent rating/target changes).
• Sealed Air beat March-quarter estimates (EPS $0.77 vs. $0.72; revenue $1.40B vs. $1.34B), trades at a PE of 12.29 with a $6.21B market cap, and pays a $0.20 quarterly dividend (1.9% yield, 23.3% payout ratio).

Sealed Air Corporation (NYSE:SEE - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 16,793,899 shares, an increase of 40.5% from the March 15th total of 11,955,154 shares. Approximately 11.4% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,632,849 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Sealed Air from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $42.00 price objective (down from $45.00) on shares of Sealed Air in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Sealed Air from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sealed Air in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.09.

Sealed Air Stock Performance

Shares of SEE opened at $42.15 on Wednesday. Sealed Air has a one year low of $23.44 and a one year high of $44.27. The company has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $41.96 and a 200-day moving average of $40.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Sealed Air (NYSE:SEE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Sealed Air had a return on equity of 47.21% and a net margin of 9.43%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sealed Air will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sealed Air Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Sealed Air's payout ratio is 23.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sealed Air

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Sealed Air by 5,115.2% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 364,852 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $15,147,000 after purchasing an additional 357,856 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sealed Air by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,335 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,997 shares during the last quarter. Ovata Capital Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Sealed Air in the fourth quarter valued at about $943,000. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sealed Air during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,282,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Sealed Air during the fourth quarter worth about $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.40% of the company's stock.

Sealed Air Company Profile

Sealed Air Corporation is a global packaging company that develops and manufactures a wide range of materials, equipment and services designed to protect, preserve and promote products. Best known for inventing Bubble Wrap® protective packaging, the company serves customers across food and beverage, e-commerce, electronics, manufacturing and healthcare industries. Sealed Air's solutions help businesses reduce product damage, extend shelf life and improve operational efficiency.

The company's product portfolio is organized into three primary segments.

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