Public Policy Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPHC) Short Interest Update

Public Policy Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPHC) saw a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 227,472 shares, a growth of 49.8% from the August 31st total of 151,879 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 146,093 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PPHC. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Public Policy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Public Policy in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e)” rating on shares of Public Policy in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Public Policy Stock Performance

Public Policy stock traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $10.52. 177,687 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 140,976. Public Policy has a 12 month low of $7.01 and a 12 month high of $15.15. The business has a 50 day moving average of $10.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $317.91 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.64.

Public Policy (NASDAQ:PPHC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $52.14 million during the quarter. Public Policy had a negative net margin of 18.85% and a negative return on equity of 0.26%. As a group, research analysts predict that Public Policy will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Public Policy Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Public Policy

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Public Policy stock. State Street Corp bought a new position in shares of Public Policy Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPHC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 50,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $375,000. State Street Corp owned 0.17% of Public Policy as of its most recent SEC filing.

About Public Policy

Public Policy Holding Company, Inc is a public affairs and government relations platform that provides strategic advice and advocacy services to corporations, trade associations, nonprofit organizations, and other institutions. The company operates through a network of specialized public policy and communications firms.

Its services generally include federal, state, and local government relations; lobbying; public affairs strategy; strategic communications; coalition building; grassroots and digital advocacy; policy research; and issue management.