Entravision Communications Corporation (NYSE:EVC) Short Interest Update

Entravision Communications Corporation (NYSE:EVC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,508,368 shares, a growth of 220.7% from the April 30th total of 782,166 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,596,774 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.3 days. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Entravision Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EVC opened at $9.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. Entravision Communications has a 1-year low of $1.95 and a 1-year high of $10.12. The company has a market capitalization of $829.20 million, a P/E ratio of -40.99 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.78.

Entravision Communications (NYSE:EVC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $196.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.49 million. Entravision Communications had a negative net margin of 3.41% and a negative return on equity of 25.31%.

Entravision Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. Entravision Communications’s payout ratio is currently -90.91%.

Insider Activity at Entravision Communications

In related news, major shareholder Alexandra Seros sold 427,991 shares of Entravision Communications stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.17, for a total value of $3,924,677.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 6,823,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,568,184.63. The trade was a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 4,497,004 shares of company stock valued at $35,936,071 over the last three months. Insiders own 8.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EVC. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Entravision Communications by 35.7% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 26,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 6,991 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Entravision Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Entravision Communications by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 595,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 73,103 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Entravision Communications by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 470,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $988,000 after purchasing an additional 32,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Entravision Communications by 146.2% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 38,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 22,606 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised Entravision Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat, Entravision Communications presently has an average rating of “Sell”.

Entravision Communications Company Profile

Entravision Communications Corporation (NYSE: EVC) is a diversified Spanish-language media and advertising company headquartered in Santa Monica, California. The company develops and distributes multimedia content tailored to Hispanic audiences across the United States, leveraging a combination of traditional broadcasting and digital platforms to reach consumers and marketers seeking to engage this fast-growing demographic.

In its broadcasting segment, Entravision owns and operates more than 50 television stations affiliated primarily with leading Spanish-language networks, as well as over 40 radio stations in key U.S.