Intercorp Financial Services Inc. (NYSE:IFS) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Intercorp Financial Services Inc. (NYSE:IFS) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 261,007 shares, a decrease of 16.2% from the March 31st total of 311,525 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 327,296 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.8 days.

Institutional Trading of Intercorp Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Intercorp Financial Services by 24.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 534,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,566,000 after acquiring an additional 104,792 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Intercorp Financial Services by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 589,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,761,000 after buying an additional 107,290 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in shares of Intercorp Financial Services by 9.5% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 559,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,567,000 after buying an additional 48,624 shares in the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new stake in shares of Intercorp Financial Services in the third quarter worth $3,924,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Intercorp Financial Services by 100.8% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 376,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,192,000 after buying an additional 189,065 shares during the last quarter.

Intercorp Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IFS opened at $44.75 on Friday. Intercorp Financial Services has a 1 year low of $33.48 and a 1 year high of $53.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.28, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.85.

Intercorp Financial Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Investors of record on Friday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $1.80 per share. This is a positive change from Intercorp Financial Services’s previous annual dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 24th. This represents a yield of 401.0%. Intercorp Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Intercorp Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Intercorp Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Intercorp Financial Services Company Profile

Intercorp Financial Services (NYSE:IFS) is a Lima-based financial holding company that brings together a suite of banking and non-banking financial businesses under the Intercorp Group umbrella. Through its network of subsidiaries, the company provides a broad range of products and services designed to meet the needs of individual consumers, small and medium-sized enterprises, and large corporations across Peru.

The company’s core banking operations are conducted through Interbank, which offers deposit accounts, personal and business loans, credit and debit cards, trade finance and electronic banking solutions.