Sealed Air Corporation (NYSE:SEE) Short Interest Up 21.9% in March

Sealed Air Corporation (NYSE:SEE) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 11,955,154 shares, a growth of 21.9% from the February 26th total of 9,803,376 shares. Approximately 8.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,453,862 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SEE. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $42.00 price target (down from $45.00) on shares of Sealed Air in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Sealed Air from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sealed Air in a research note on Friday. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Sealed Air from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.09.

Sealed Air Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE SEE traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $41.99. 3,884,588 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,060,979. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $41.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.72. Sealed Air has a 12 month low of $22.78 and a 12 month high of $44.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.24 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65.

Sealed Air (NYSE:SEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.05. Sealed Air had a return on equity of 47.21% and a net margin of 9.43%.The company had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. Sealed Air’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sealed Air will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sealed Air Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Sealed Air’s payout ratio is currently 23.32%.

Institutional Trading of Sealed Air

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sealed Air during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Sealed Air in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sealed Air in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Sealed Air by 383.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 837 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Sealed Air during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 94.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Sealed Air

Sealed Air Corporation is a global packaging company that develops and manufactures a wide range of materials, equipment and services designed to protect, preserve and promote products. Best known for inventing Bubble Wrap® protective packaging, the company serves customers across food and beverage, e-commerce, electronics, manufacturing and healthcare industries. Sealed Air’s solutions help businesses reduce product damage, extend shelf life and improve operational efficiency.

The company’s product portfolio is organized into three primary segments.