Short Interest in Graham Holdings (NYSE:GHC) Decreases By 7.7%

Graham Holdings (NYSE:GHC) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 54,800 shares, a decline of 7.7% from the March 15th total of 59,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 14,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Graham from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Graham Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE GHC traded down $4.08 on Wednesday, reaching $701.20. 5,213 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,072. Graham has a fifty-two week low of $551.36 and a fifty-two week high of $771.05. The company has a 50 day moving average of $727.73 and a 200 day moving average of $674.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26 and a beta of 1.11.

Graham (NYSE:GHC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $10.94 EPS for the quarter. Graham had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 5.23%. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter.

Graham Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 18th will be given a dividend of $1.72 per share. This represents a $6.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 17th. Graham’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graham

In other Graham news, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.99, for a total transaction of $396,422.44. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,989.07. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 32.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graham

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Point72 Middle East FZE purchased a new position in Graham in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graham during the fourth quarter worth $73,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Graham in the fourth quarter valued at $77,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Graham by 96.9% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Graham by 119.0% during the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 138 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.54% of the company’s stock.

Graham Company Profile

Graham Holdings Company, through its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified education and media company in the United States and internationally. It provides test preparation services and materials; professional training and exam preparation for professional certifications and licensures; and non-academic operations support services to the Purdue University Global; operations support services for online courses and programs; training and test preparation services for accounting and financial services professionals; English-language training, academic preparation programs, and test preparation for English proficiency exams; and A-level examination preparation services, as well as operates colleges, business school, higher education institution, and an online learning institution.