Sprott Inc. (NYSE:SII) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Sprott Inc. (NYSE:SII - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 183,100 shares, a decrease of 17.3% from the April 30th total of 221,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 199,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Sprott Stock Performance

Shares of SII traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $61.93. 162,326 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 131,147. The stock's fifty day moving average is $52.52 and its 200 day moving average is $46.41. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.03 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 3.30 and a current ratio of 3.30. Sprott has a 1-year low of $38.41 and a 1-year high of $62.81.

Sprott (NYSE:SII - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.14. Sprott had a net margin of 27.38% and a return on equity of 15.02%. The firm had revenue of $37.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.48 million.

Sprott Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. Sprott's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in Sprott by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 7,358 shares of the company's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Sprott by 40.3% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,044 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Sprott by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 32,040 shares of the company's stock worth $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Sprott by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 17,631 shares of the company's stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Sprott by 9.2% during the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,678 shares of the company's stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Sprott in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company.

About Sprott

Sprott Inc is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides asset management, portfolio management, wealth management, fund management, and administrative and consulting services to its clients. It offers mutual funds, hedge funds, and offshore funds, along with managed accounts.