FutureFuel Corp. (NYSE:FF) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

FutureFuel Corp. (NYSE:FF) saw a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 603,800 shares, an increase of 8.2% from the November 30th total of 558,200 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 292,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

FutureFuel Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE FF traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $5.29. The stock had a trading volume of 149,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 427,426. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $5.42 and a 200-day moving average of $5.52. The firm has a market cap of $231.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.45 and a beta of 0.58. FutureFuel has a fifty-two week low of $4.15 and a fifty-two week high of $8.36.

FutureFuel Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 4th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.54%. FutureFuel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of FutureFuel from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th.

Insider Buying and Selling at FutureFuel

In related news, CEO Roeland Polet purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $5.11 per share, for a total transaction of $51,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,100. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 41.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of FutureFuel by 76.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,136 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $7,968,000 after buying an additional 671,144 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of FutureFuel by 321.7% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 742,405 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 566,367 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of FutureFuel by 612.4% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 352,525 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 303,038 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of FutureFuel by 293.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 219,793 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 163,993 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of FutureFuel by 19.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 800,995 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,607,000 after purchasing an additional 128,655 shares during the last quarter. 44.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About FutureFuel

FutureFuel Corp., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells diversified chemical, bio-based fuel, and bio-based specialty chemical products in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Chemicals and Biofuels. The Chemicals segment provides various custom chemicals that are used in the coatings, chemical intermediates, industrial and consumer cleaning, oil and gas, and specialty polymers industries; and performance chemicals, such as polymer modifiers, glycerin products, and various specialty chemicals and solvents.