Steelcase Inc. (NYSE:SCS) Short Interest Up 34.0% in April

Steelcase Inc. (NYSE:SCS) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,390,000 shares, an increase of 34.0% from the March 31st total of 2,530,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 806,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days. Approximately 4.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Robert G. Krestakos sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.61, for a total transaction of $50,440.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 108,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,362,901.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 12.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steelcase

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Steelcase by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 1,406 shares during the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Steelcase by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,476 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Steelcase by 1.0% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 185,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,069,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Steelcase during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank boosted its position in Steelcase by 2.8% during the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 76,004 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $994,000 after acquiring an additional 2,082 shares during the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised Steelcase from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 29th.

Steelcase Price Performance

Shares of SCS traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $12.03. 437,710 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 789,270. The stock has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.35. Steelcase has a 1-year low of $6.39 and a 1-year high of $14.54. The company has a 50 day moving average of $12.64 and a 200-day moving average of $12.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Steelcase (NYSE:SCS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The business services provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $775.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $780.25 million. Steelcase had a return on equity of 12.87% and a net margin of 2.57%. The business’s revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Steelcase will post 0.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steelcase Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. Steelcase’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.82%.

About Steelcase

Steelcase Inc provides a portfolio of furniture and architectural products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through Americas and International segments. The company's furniture portfolio includes furniture systems, seating, storage, fixed and height-adjustable desks, benches, and tables, as well as complementary products, such as work accessories, lighting, mobile power, and screens.