ACCO Brands Co. (NYSE:ACCO) Short Interest Up 12.4% in April

ACCO Brands Co. (NYSE:ACCO) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,720,000 shares, an increase of 12.4% from the March 31st total of 1,530,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 690,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ACCO Brands

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of ACCO Brands by 77.6% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 54,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 23,896 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ACCO Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of ACCO Brands by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 317,276 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,821,000 after buying an additional 49,542 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ACCO Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $365,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in ACCO Brands by 1.0% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,251,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,183,000 after acquiring an additional 12,919 shares during the last quarter. 84.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACCO has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered ACCO Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $7.50 price target on shares of ACCO Brands in a report on Thursday, February 29th.

ACCO Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACCO traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $4.76. 474,416 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 673,785. The company has a market cap of $455.25 million, a P/E ratio of -20.08, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.58. ACCO Brands has a 1 year low of $4.30 and a 1 year high of $6.62.

ACCO Brands (NYSE:ACCO) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $488.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $476.37 million. ACCO Brands had a negative net margin of 1.19% and a positive return on equity of 12.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that ACCO Brands will post 1.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ACCO Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.30%. ACCO Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -125.00%.

About ACCO Brands

ACCO Brands Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets consumer, school, technology, and office products. It operates through three segments: ACCO Brands North America, ACCO Brands EMEA, and ACCO Brands International. The company provides computer and gaming accessories, planners, dry erase boards, school notebooks, and janitorial supplies; storage and organization products, such as lever-arch binders, sheet protectors, and indexes; sheet protectors and indexes; laminating, binding, and shredding machines; writing instruments and art products; stapling and punching products; and do-it-yourself tools.