Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE:WWW) Short Interest Up 851.5% in July

Key Points

• Wolverine World Wide experienced a dramatic increase in short interest, with a total of 9,190,000 shares shorted as of July 15, marking an increase of 851.5% from the previous month.
• Analysts have varying outlooks on Wolverine World Wide, with price targets ranging from $17.00 to $30.00, and an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target of $20.75.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, equating to an annualized dividend yield of 1.8%, with a payout ratio of 45.98%.

Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE:WWW - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 9,190,000 shares, agrowthof851.5% from the June 30th total of 965,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,440,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.4 days. Approximately11.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Approximately11.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,440,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.4 days.

Wolverine World Wide Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of NYSE:WWW traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $22.90. 1,907,937 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,488,082. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 26.32 and a beta of 1.74. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $19.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.94. Wolverine World Wide has a twelve month low of $9.58 and a twelve month high of $24.64.

Wolverine World Wide (NYSE:WWW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The textile maker reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.07. Wolverine World Wide had a net margin of 4.15% and a return on equity of 28.74%. The company had revenue of $412.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $395.94 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Wolverine World Wide will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wolverine World Wide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. Wolverine World Wide's dividend payout ratio is 45.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wolverine World Wide

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Wolverine World Wide by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,766,527 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $261,217,000 after purchasing an additional 249,456 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wolverine World Wide by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,005,788 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $125,271,000 after purchasing an additional 45,779 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Wolverine World Wide by 0.8% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 5,270,775 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $73,316,000 after purchasing an additional 41,857 shares during the period. Callodine Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Wolverine World Wide by 60.2% in the first quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP now owns 3,047,071 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $42,385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Wolverine World Wide by 70.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,425,858 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $53,854,000 after acquiring an additional 998,916 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WWW shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Wolverine World Wide in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Baird R W upgraded Wolverine World Wide from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Wolverine World Wide from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Argus upgraded Wolverine World Wide from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Wolverine World Wide from $22.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.75.

About Wolverine World Wide

Wolverine World Wide, Inc designs, manufactures, sources, markets, licenses, and distributes footwear, apparel, and accessories in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, Canada and Latin America. It operates through Active Group and Work Group segments. The company offers casual footwear and apparel; performance outdoor and athletic footwear and apparel; kids' footwear; industrial work boots and apparel; and uniform shoes and boots.