Akzo Nobel NV (OTCMKTS:AKZOY) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Akzo Nobel NV (OTCMKTS:AKZOY) saw a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 28,311 shares, a growth of 40.9% from the February 26th total of 20,089 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 268,315 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.1 days. Approximately 0.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AKZOY. UBS Group upgraded shares of Akzo Nobel to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Barclays downgraded shares of Akzo Nobel from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Wall Street Zen cut Akzo Nobel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Akzo Nobel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Akzo Nobel from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold”.

Akzo Nobel Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of OTCMKTS AKZOY traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $18.70. The company had a trading volume of 169,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 226,468. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.50. The stock has a market cap of $9.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Akzo Nobel has a 52-week low of $18.04 and a 52-week high of $24.52.

Akzo Nobel (OTCMKTS:AKZOY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The basic materials company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.07). Akzo Nobel had a return on equity of 13.73% and a net margin of 6.49%.The business had revenue of $2.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Akzo Nobel will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Akzo Nobel Company Profile

Akzo Nobel N.V. is a Dutch multinational company specializing in paints, coatings and specialty chemicals. Established through the 1994 merger of Akzo and Nobel Industries, the company traces its roots back to chemical and saltpeter production in the Netherlands. Today, Akzo Nobel is recognized as one of the world’s leading coatings manufacturers, serving both decorative and industrial markets.

The company’s business is organized into three principal segments: Decorative Paints, Performance Coatings and Specialty Chemicals.