Farmer Bros. Co. (NASDAQ:FARM) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Farmer Bros. Co. (NASDAQ:FARM) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 612,400 shares, an increase of 650.5% from the January 31st total of 81,600 shares. Approximately 3.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 660,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Farmer Bros. Price Performance

Shares of FARM stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $3.04. 151,925 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,051,116. The firm has a market cap of $64.81 million, a PE ratio of -6.32 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.10. Farmer Bros. has a 1-year low of $1.60 and a 1-year high of $3.86.

Farmer Bros. (NASDAQ:FARM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.18. Farmer Bros. had a negative return on equity of 27.45% and a negative net margin of 2.92%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Farmer Bros. will post -0.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Farmer Bros.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Penn Capital Management Company LLC lifted its position in Farmer Bros. by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 1,327,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,390,000 after buying an additional 295,280 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Farmer Bros. by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 594,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,071,000 after acquiring an additional 40,200 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Farmer Bros. by 5.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 209,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $414,000 after acquiring an additional 11,390 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in Farmer Bros. by 67.1% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 69,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 27,805 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in Farmer Bros. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $69,000. 64.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Farmer Bros. in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

About Farmer Bros.

Farmer Bros. Co engages in the roasting, wholesale, equipment servicing, and distribution of coffee, tea, and other allied products in the United States. The company offers roast and ground coffee; frozen liquid coffee; flavoured and unflavoured iced and hot teas; culinary products, including spices, pancake and biscuit mixes, gravy and sauce mixes, soup bases, dressings, and syrups and sauces, as well as coffee filters, cups, sugar, and creamers; and other beverages comprising cappuccino, cocoa, granitas, and other blender-based beverages and concentrated and ready-to-drink cold brew and iced coffee.