Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Avnet, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVT) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,160,000 shares, an increase of 7.1% from the March 15th total of 2,950,000 shares. Approximately 3.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 592,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Avnet from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.50.

Avnet Stock Performance

AVT stock opened at $47.09 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a PE ratio of 6.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.24. Avnet has a 12-month low of $39.64 and a 12-month high of $51.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.37.

Avnet (NASDAQ:AVT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.15 billion. Avnet had a return on equity of 13.60% and a net margin of 2.62%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Avnet will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avnet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Avnet’s payout ratio is 17.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avnet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVT. Natixis Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Avnet in the 1st quarter worth $448,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Avnet in the 1st quarter worth $1,019,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Avnet by 33.1% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 64,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,598,000 after buying an additional 15,921 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its stake in Avnet by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 36,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,472,000 after buying an additional 3,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its stake in Avnet by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 63,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,658,000 after buying an additional 5,646 shares in the last quarter. 95.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avnet Company Profile

Avnet, Inc, distributes electronic component technology. The company operates through two segments, Electronic Components and Farnell. The Electronic Components segment markets, sells, and distributes semiconductors; interconnect, passive, and electromechanical components; and other integrated components from electronic component manufacturers.