Manchester United plc (NYSE:MANU) Short Interest Update

Manchester United plc (NYSE:MANU) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,910,000 shares, a decrease of 41.2% from the March 15th total of 3,250,000 shares. Currently, 5.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,640,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Manchester United Price Performance

MANU opened at $14.89 on Thursday. Manchester United has a 12-month low of $13.50 and a 12-month high of $26.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.28. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.16. The company has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -135.32 and a beta of 0.76.

Manchester United (NYSE:MANU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 12th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.32. Manchester United had a negative return on equity of 12.29% and a negative net margin of 1.98%. The firm had revenue of $280.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.09 million. Research analysts predict that Manchester United will post -0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MANU shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Manchester United from $20.30 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Manchester United to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Manchester United

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MANU. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Manchester United by 4,255.3% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 3,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 3,234 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Manchester United by 27.4% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 135,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,953,000 after acquiring an additional 29,000 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Manchester United by 6.3% during the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 218,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,154,000 after buying an additional 13,000 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Manchester United by 37.0% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 126,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,835,000 after buying an additional 34,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Manchester United by 12.4% during the first quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 12,289,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $177,829,000 after buying an additional 1,355,427 shares during the last quarter. 23.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Manchester United Company Profile

Manchester United plc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates a professional sports team in the United Kingdom. It operates Manchester United Football Club, a professional football club. The company develops marketing and sponsorship relationships with international and regional companies to leverage its brand.