ACCO Brands Co. (NYSE:ACCO) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

ACCO Brands Co. (NYSE:ACCO) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,890,000 shares, a drop of 20.9% from the January 31st total of 2,390,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 698,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

ACCO Brands Price Performance

NYSE ACCO traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $4.44. 1,367,660 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 627,665. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.37. ACCO Brands has a 1 year low of $4.30 and a 1 year high of $6.44. The company has a market cap of $411.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.68.

ACCO Brands (NYSE:ACCO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.01). ACCO Brands had a positive return on equity of 14.96% and a negative net margin of 6.10%. The firm had revenue of $448.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $455.06 million. On average, analysts predict that ACCO Brands will post 1.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ACCO Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. ACCO Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently -28.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on ACCO shares. Barrington Research cut their price objective on ACCO Brands from $7.50 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of ACCO Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th.

Institutional Trading of ACCO Brands

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ACCO Brands by 127.8% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,532,460 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,045,000 after buying an additional 859,787 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in ACCO Brands by 37.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,067,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,857,000 after acquiring an additional 562,985 shares during the period. Capital Management Corp VA increased its stake in ACCO Brands by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 3,526,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,288,000 after purchasing an additional 439,810 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in ACCO Brands by 663.4% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 410,236 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,154,000 after purchasing an additional 356,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of ACCO Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,764,000. 84.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ACCO Brands Company Profile

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.