Primo Brands Corporation (NYSE:PRMB) Short Interest Up 63.7% in December

Primo Brands Corporation (NYSE:PRMB) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of 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 volume of 7,809,305 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days. Currently, 18.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Currently, 18.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 7,809,305 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRMB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Primo Brands from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Zacks Research lowered Primo Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. TD Securities lowered their price target on Primo Brands from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 7th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Primo Brands from $32.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Primo Brands from $35.00 to $28.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Primo Brands has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.33.

Primo Brands Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Primo Brands stock traded down $0.03 on Tuesday, hitting $16.56. The stock had a trading volume of 873,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,690,584. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.89. Primo Brands has a one year low of $14.36 and a one year high of $35.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The stock has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -53.40, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Primo Brands announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, November 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Primo Brands Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Primo Brands

In other news, Director Steven P. Stanbrook bought 54,540 shares of Primo Brands stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.43 per share, for a total transaction of $896,092.20. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 181,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,983,704.43. The trade was a 42.92% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Eric J. Foss purchased 4,970 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.15 per share, for a total transaction of $80,265.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 360,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,814,581.40. This represents a 1.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 203,469 shares of company stock worth $3,214,674. 58.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Viking Global Investors LP increased its position in shares of Primo Brands by 290.2% during the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 19,602,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $580,615,000 after purchasing an additional 14,578,589 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Primo Brands by 2,486.6% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,867,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,784,000 after buying an additional 5,640,287 shares during the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC raised its position in Primo Brands by 401.8% in the first quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 4,656,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,253,000 after acquiring an additional 3,728,344 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Primo Brands during the 2nd quarter worth $105,008,000. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE purchased a new position in shares of Primo Brands during the 1st quarter worth $115,081,000. 87.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Primo Brands

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.