Short Interest in Akzo Nobel NV (OTCMKTS:AKZOY) Rises By 343.7%

Akzo Nobel NV (OTCMKTS:AKZOY) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 50,070 shares, a growth of 343.7% from the May 14th total of 11,284 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 228,409 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.2 days. Currently, 0.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Akzo Nobel Price Performance

Shares of AKZOY opened at $21.85 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $11.22 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.72. Akzo Nobel has a fifty-two week low of $18.04 and a fifty-two week high of $25.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.54.

Akzo Nobel (OTCMKTS:AKZOY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. Akzo Nobel had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 13.42%. Analysts anticipate that Akzo Nobel will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AKZOY. Zacks Research raised Akzo Nobel from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays cut shares of Akzo Nobel from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Akzo Nobel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Akzo Nobel in a report on Friday, June 5th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Akzo Nobel from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

About Akzo Nobel

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.