Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE:SSTK) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE:SSTK) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,148,415 shares, a decrease of 19.3% from the December 15th total of 1,422,927 shares. Approximately 4.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 271,781 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days. Based on an average trading volume of 271,781 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days. Approximately 4.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Shutterstock Price Performance

SSTK stock traded down $0.58 on Monday, reaching $18.44. 202,668 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 177,138. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.51 and a 200-day moving average of $20.71. The firm has a market cap of $655.13 million, a PE ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Shutterstock has a twelve month low of $14.35 and a twelve month high of $32.20.

Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The business services provider reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.48). Shutterstock had a return on equity of 16.30% and a net margin of 5.89%.The company had revenue of $260.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $255.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. Shutterstock’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Shutterstock will post 3.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Shutterstock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 4th were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 4th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.2%. Shutterstock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.57%.

Institutional Trading of Shutterstock

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SSTK. Callodine Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Shutterstock in the 2nd quarter valued at $7,835,000. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Shutterstock by 382.6% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 49,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $935,000 after purchasing an additional 39,094 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in Shutterstock in the second quarter valued at $1,022,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in Shutterstock by 8.7% during the second quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 14,475 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 1,158 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Shutterstock by 4,150.2% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,361 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 17,929 shares during the last quarter. 82.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Shutterstock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Shutterstock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Shutterstock from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Shutterstock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.00.

Shutterstock Company Profile

Shutterstock, Inc (NYSE:SSTK) operates a leading global creative platform that provides royalty-free stock content to businesses, marketing agencies and media outlets. Its primary offerings include high-resolution photographs, vector graphics, illustrations, video footage and music tracks, all available through subscription plans or on-demand licensing. The platform also features customizable design tools and collaborative workspaces that enable customers to create and manage visual content more efficiently.

Founded in 2003 by Jon Oringer, Shutterstock began as an online marketplace offering a modest selection of images and quickly scaled its library to hundreds of millions of assets.