Coty Inc. (NYSE:COTY) Short Interest Update

Coty Inc. (NYSE:COTY) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 22,780,000 shares, a growth of 15.5% from the March 15th total of 19,720,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,890,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.9 days. Approximately 5.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Activity at Coty

In related news, Director Robert S. Singer sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.70, for a total value of $381,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 120,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,524,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Coty news, Director Robert S. Singer sold 90,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.56, for a total transaction of $1,130,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 169,982 shares in the company, valued at $2,134,973.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert S. Singer sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.70, for a total value of $381,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 120,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,524,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of COTY. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coty during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in Coty in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Coty in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Coty in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Coty by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 2,226 shares during the period. 42.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coty Stock Performance

NYSE:COTY traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $10.83. The stock had a trading volume of 4,914,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,911,508. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.94, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 1.82. Coty has a twelve month low of $9.02 and a twelve month high of $13.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.48.

Coty (NYSE:COTY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.05. Coty had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 11.91%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Coty will post 0.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on Coty in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on Coty from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Coty from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $17.50 price objective on shares of Coty in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Coty from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.36.

About Coty

Coty Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells beauty products worldwide. It operates through Prestige and Consumer Beauty segments. The company provides fragrance, color cosmetics, and skin and body care products. It offers Prestige segment products primarily through prestige retailers, including perfumeries, department stores, e-retailers, direct-to-consumer websites, and duty-free shops under the Burberry, Calvin Klein, Chloe, Davidoff, Escada, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Jil Sander, Joop!, Kylie Jenner, Lancaster, Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu, Orveda, philosophy, SKKN BY KIM, and Tiffany & Co brands.