Haleon (NYSE:HLN) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of Haleon PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:HLN) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $8.87, but opened at $9.13. Haleon shares last traded at $9.0650, with a volume of 2,350,681 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Haleon in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Haleon in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Haleon in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Haleon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Haleon in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Haleon Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.52. The stock has a market cap of $39.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.20, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.14.

Haleon Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a $0.0642 dividend. This is a negative change from Haleon’s previous dividend of $0.1307. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 132.0%. Haleon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Haleon

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLN. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Haleon by 82.8% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 14,674,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,892,000 after purchasing an additional 6,647,329 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Haleon by 17.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 10,934,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,586,230 shares during the last quarter. Sculptor Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Haleon by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 10,454,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,699,000 after purchasing an additional 505,000 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Haleon by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 10,441,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,560,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589,494 shares during the period. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Haleon by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 5,397,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,566,000 after buying an additional 13,651 shares during the last quarter. 6.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Haleon

Haleon plc (NYSE: HLN) is a global consumer healthcare company headquartered in Weybridge, England. The company develops, manufactures and markets over-the-counter medicines, oral healthcare products, nutritional supplements and other consumer health products sold through pharmacies, retailers and e-commerce channels.

Its portfolio includes well-known brands such as Sensodyne, Polident and parodontax in oral healthcare; Advil, Panadol, Voltaren and Theraflu in pain relief and respiratory care; and Centrum and Emergen-C in vitamins, minerals and supplements.