Short Interest in Primo Brands Corporation (NYSE:PRMB) Rises By 63.7%

Primo Brands Corporation (NYSE:PRMB) saw a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 29,060,033 shares, an increase of 63.7% from the November 30th total of 17,752,956 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,809,305 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days. Currently, 18.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 18.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,809,305 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRMB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Primo Brands in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Primo Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Primo Brands from $35.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Primo Brands from $32.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Primo Brands from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Primo Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.33.

Primo Brands Trading Up 0.7%

Primo Brands stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $16.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,420,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,981,800. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $17.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a PE ratio of -53.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.64. Primo Brands has a 1 year low of $14.36 and a 1 year high of $35.85.

Primo Brands (NYSE:PRMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.41. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. Primo Brands had a positive return on equity of 12.52% and a negative net margin of 1.30%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Primo Brands will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

Primo Brands declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, November 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Primo Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 25th. Primo Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -129.03%.

Insider Transactions at Primo Brands

In other news, CFO David W. Hass bought 15,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.71 per share, for a total transaction of $249,946.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 64,745 shares in the company, valued at $1,017,143.95. The trade was a 32.58% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Eric J. Foss purchased 123,049 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,909,720.48. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 355,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,510,624.32. The trade was a 53.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired 203,469 shares of company stock worth $3,214,674 over the last three months. 58.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Primo Brands

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRMB. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Primo Brands by 66.9% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 11,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 4,551 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Primo Brands by 25.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,698,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,739,000 after purchasing an additional 751,250 shares in the last quarter. Maven Securities LTD lifted its stake in Primo Brands by 17.4% during the third quarter. Maven Securities LTD now owns 25,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 3,727 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Primo Brands during the third quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Primo Brands by 31.5% in the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 67,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,501,000 after buying an additional 16,273 shares in the last quarter. 87.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Primo Brands Company Profile

Primo Brands (NYSE: PRMB) is a consumer packaged beverage company that was established as an independent entity following a corporate spin‐off in 2023. The company specializes in the production, marketing and distribution of a broad portfolio of bottled water products, including purified, mineral and sparkling varieties. Through its focus on quality control and innovation, Primo Brands aims to deliver clean, great-tasting water in formats tailored to both at-home consumption and on-the-go lifestyles.

Its product range spans multi-serve and single-serve bottles, aluminum cans and other eco-friendly packaging solutions.