Short Interest in Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) Grows By 320.1%

Key Points

• Short interest surged 320.1% in March to 2,722,067 shares (about 3.9% of the stock) with a short-interest ratio of 6.1 days based on average daily volume.
• President Debbra L. Schoneman sold 20,960 shares (≈$1.84M) on Feb. 11, a transaction that reduced her holdings by 64.41%; insiders now own 2.70% of the company.
• Piper Sandler posted a strong quarter, reporting EPS $6.88 vs. $4.72 expected and revenue of $635M (up 27.4% year-over-year), beating consensus estimates.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,722,067 shares, a growth of 320.1% from the March 15th total of 647,946 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 447,860 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.1 days. Currently, 3.9% of the company's stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Debbra L. Schoneman sold 20,960 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.75, for a total transaction of $1,839,187.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 11,584 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,016,467.04. This represents a 64.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Piper Sandler Companies

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PIPR. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $79,239,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $38,425,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $28,752,000. Fiera Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $28,338,000. Finally, North Reef Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 204,900 shares of the company's stock worth $69,607,000 after purchasing an additional 53,193 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.79% of the company's stock.

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:PIPR opened at $83.62 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $78.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.48. Piper Sandler Companies has a 12-month low of $53.25 and a 12-month high of $95.07.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $6.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $2.16. The firm had revenue of $635.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $516.52 million. Piper Sandler Companies had a return on equity of 21.85% and a net margin of 14.77%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 27.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share.

Piper Sandler Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.175 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Piper Sandler Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on PIPR shares. Bank of America started coverage on Piper Sandler Companies in a research note on Monday, January 26th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $96.25 price objective on the stock. Northland Securities upgraded Piper Sandler Companies from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $87.50 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $99.50 price objective on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Piper Sandler Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Piper Sandler Companies from $115.25 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Piper Sandler Companies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $95.31.

About Piper Sandler Companies

Piper Sandler Companies NYSE: PIPR is an investment bank and institutional securities firm that provides a range of capital markets and advisory services to corporations, institutions, municipalities and high-net-worth individuals. The firm’s core activities include investment banking and M&A advisory, underwriting and distribution of equity and debt securities, public finance, and sector-focused advisory across industries such as healthcare, energy, financial services and technology.

In addition to traditional investment banking, Piper Sandler offers equity and fixed income research, institutional sales and trading, and market-making services.

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