Public Policy Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPHC) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 139.8% in September

Public Policy Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPHC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 545,427 shares, a growth of 139.8% from the September 15th total of 227,472 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 437,444 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Public Policy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PPHC. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Public Policy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $83,000. State Street Corp purchased a new stake in Public Policy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $375,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in Public Policy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,869,000.

Public Policy Stock Down 1.1%

PPHC opened at $10.46 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $11.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.01. Public Policy has a 1-year low of $7.01 and a 1-year high of $15.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Public Policy (NASDAQ:PPHC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $52.14 million for the quarter. Public Policy had a negative net margin of 18.85% and a negative return on equity of 0.26%. Analysts expect that Public Policy will post 0.50 earnings per share for the current year.

Public Policy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 25th will be paid a $0.1170 dividend. This represents a yield of 212.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 25th. Public Policy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 209.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Public Policy in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Public Policy from a “sell (e)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Public Policy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.00.

About Public Policy

Public Policy Holding Company, Inc (NASDAQ: PPHC) is a public affairs and government relations company that provides strategic advisory, lobbying, communications and public policy services to organizations operating in the United States. The company works with businesses, trade associations, nonprofit organizations and other institutions seeking to understand and engage with government and regulatory processes.

PPHC operates through a portfolio of specialized public policy and communications firms.