G. Willi-Food International, Ltd. (NASDAQ:WILC) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in G. Willi-Food International increased by 100% in July, rising from 4,000 to 8,000 shares, which is about 0.3% of the company's total shares.
• Wall Street analysts upgraded the stock from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating, indicating positive sentiment towards the company.
• The company announced a dividend of $0.42 per share with a significant yield of 90.0%, set to be paid on September 4th.

G. Willi-Food International, Ltd. (NASDAQ:WILC - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 8,000 shares, anincreaseof100.0% from the July 15th total of 4,000 shares. Approximately0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 17,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.5 days. Based on an average daily volume of 17,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.5 days. Approximately0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

G. Willi-Food International Stock Performance

Shares of WILC stock traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $21.52. 11,122 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,707. G. Willi-Food International has a twelve month low of $9.48 and a twelve month high of $22.85. The firm has a market cap of $298.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.90. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $19.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.27.

G. Willi-Food International (NASDAQ:WILC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $44.83 million for the quarter. G. Willi-Food International had a return on equity of 15.70% and a net margin of 16.07%.

G. Willi-Food International Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a -- dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 90.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. G. Willi-Food International's payout ratio is presently 31.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On G. Willi-Food International

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of G. Willi-Food International by 786.8% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,146 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,904 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of G. Willi-Food International in the 1st quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp acquired a new position in shares of G. Willi-Food International in the 4th quarter worth $521,000. 9.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised G. Willi-Food International from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th.

About G. Willi-Food International

G. Willi-Food International Ltd. designs, imports, markets, and distributes food products worldwide. The company offers mushrooms, artichoke, beans, asparagus, capers, corn kernels, baby corn, palm hearts, vine leaves, sour pickles, mixed pickled vegetables, pickled peppers, olives, garlic, roasted eggplant sun, and dried tomatoes; and canned fish comprising tuna, sardine, anchovies, smoked and pressed cod liver, herring, fish paste, and salmon products.