Entravision Communications Corporation (NYSE:EVC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Entravision Communications Corporation (NYSE:EVC) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,508,368 shares, an increase of 220.7% from the April 30th total of 782,166 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,596,774 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Entravision Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Sell”.

Entravision Communications Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of NYSE EVC traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $9.02. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,765,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,525,065. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. Entravision Communications has a 1 year low of $1.95 and a 1 year high of $10.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $829.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.99 and a beta of 1.36.

Entravision Communications (NYSE:EVC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.03. Entravision Communications had a negative net margin of 3.41% and a negative return on equity of 25.31%. The business had revenue of $196.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.49 million.

Entravision Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Entravision Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -90.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Entravision Communications news, major shareholder Alexandra Seros sold 685,111 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.71, for a total transaction of $5,967,316.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,974,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,170,072.50. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 4,497,004 shares of company stock worth $35,936,071 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 8.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EVC. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its stake in Entravision Communications by 265.0% in the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 572,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 415,348 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd lifted its stake in Entravision Communications by 40.6% in the third quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 26,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 7,784 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Entravision Communications in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Entravision Communications in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Entravision Communications by 24.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 568,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,689,000 after acquiring an additional 113,013 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.46% of the company’s stock.

Entravision Communications Company Profile

Entravision Communications Corporation (NYSE: EVC) is a diversified Spanish-language media and advertising company headquartered in Santa Monica, California. The company develops and distributes multimedia content tailored to Hispanic audiences across the United States, leveraging a combination of traditional broadcasting and digital platforms to reach consumers and marketers seeking to engage this fast-growing demographic.

In its broadcasting segment, Entravision owns and operates more than 50 television stations affiliated primarily with leading Spanish-language networks, as well as over 40 radio stations in key U.S.