Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) Short Interest Up 19.5% in January

Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,000,000 shares, a growth of 19.5% from the December 31st total of 2,510,000 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days.

Unilever Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Unilever stock traded down $0.16 on Monday, hitting $57.22. The company had a trading volume of 121,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,418,801. Unilever has a 52 week low of $46.46 and a 52 week high of $65.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unilever presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.75.

Institutional Trading of Unilever

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UL. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 7.1% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,726,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,086,547,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,177 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 66.4% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,454,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,881,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378,517 shares in the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Unilever by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 2,874,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,008,000 after acquiring an additional 207,549 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 3.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,812,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,588,000 after acquiring an additional 63,835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Unilever by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,240,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,132,000 after purchasing an additional 190,753 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Unilever

Unilever PLC operates as a fast-moving consumer goods company in the Asia Pacific, Africa, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through five segments: Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, Nutrition, and Ice Cream. The Beauty & Wellbeing segment engages in the sale of hair care products, such as shampoo, conditioner, and styling; skin care products including face, hand, and body moisturizer; and prestige beauty and health & wellbeing products consist of the vitamins, minerals, and supplements.