Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE:SNN) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,980,000 shares, a drop of 17.5% from the March 15th total of 2,400,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 972,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 0.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smith & Nephew

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Smith & Nephew by 397.3% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 920 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 735 shares during the period. Garner Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Smith & Nephew during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. CWM LLC increased its position in Smith & Nephew by 68.6% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 954 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management increased its position in Smith & Nephew by 224.3% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,015 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Smith & Nephew by 1,566.2% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,133 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 25.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised Smith & Nephew from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Smith & Nephew currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Smith & Nephew Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SNN opened at $23.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Smith & Nephew has a fifty-two week low of $21.52 and a fifty-two week high of $33.08. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.97.

Smith & Nephew Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.462 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st.

About Smith & Nephew

Smith & Nephew plc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells medical devices and services in the United Kingdom and internationally. It operates through three segments: Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine & ENT, and Advanced Wound Management. The company offers knee implant products for knee replacement procedures; hip implants for revision procedures; trauma and extremities products that include internal and external devices used in the stabilization of severe fractures and deformity correction procedures; and other reconstruction products.