Steelcase Inc. (NYSE:SCS) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Steelcase Inc. (NYSE:SCS) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,390,000 shares, an increase of 34.0% from the March 31st total of 2,530,000 shares. Currently, 4.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 806,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Steelcase news, VP Robert G. Krestakos sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.61, for a total value of $50,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 108,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,362,901.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 12.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Steelcase

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Steelcase in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,215,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Steelcase by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,765,893 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $132,035,000 after buying an additional 452,494 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Steelcase in the third quarter valued at about $4,505,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Steelcase by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,752,105 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $64,249,000 after buying an additional 352,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Steelcase by 175.8% in the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 487,214 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,435,000 after buying an additional 310,590 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Steelcase Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Steelcase stock opened at $12.07 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.75, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Steelcase has a 12-month low of $6.39 and a 12-month high of $14.54.

Steelcase (NYSE:SCS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The business services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.02. Steelcase had a net margin of 2.57% and a return on equity of 12.87%. The firm had revenue of $775.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $780.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Steelcase will post 0.92 EPS for the current year.

Steelcase Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 3rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 2nd. Steelcase’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Steelcase from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 29th.

About Steelcase

Steelcase Inc provides a portfolio of furniture and architectural products in the United States and internationally. It operates through Americas, EMEA, and Other segments. The company's furniture portfolio includes furniture systems, seating, storage, fixed and height-adjustable desks, benches, and tables, as well as complementary products, such as work accessories, lighting, and mobile power and screens.