Interface, Inc. (NASDAQ:TILE) Short Interest Up 20.3% in March

Interface, Inc. (NASDAQ:TILE) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,550,000 shares, a growth of 20.3% from the February 28th total of 2,950,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 576,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.2 days. Currently, 6.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Interface Stock Down 7.3 %

Interface stock opened at $18.87 on Friday. Interface has a fifty-two week low of $14.13 and a fifty-two week high of $27.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.20, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 2.18. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.15.

Interface (NASDAQ:TILE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The textile maker reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $335.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $340.51 million. Interface had a net margin of 6.49% and a return on equity of 19.91%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Interface will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

Interface Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Interface’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.72%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Daniel T. Hendrix sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.78, for a total transaction of $297,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 103,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,464,725.66. The trade was a 10.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Interface

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Interface by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,850 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Interface by 78.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,242 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Interface by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,880 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Interface by 103.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,460 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Interface by 204.4% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. 98.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TILE has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Interface from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Interface in a report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Interface Company Profile

Interface, Inc designs, produces, and sells modular carpet products primarily worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Americas (AMS), and Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia (EAAA). The company offers modular carpets under the Interface and FLOR brand names; luxury vinyl tiles; carpet tiles under the CQuestGB name for use in commercial interiors, include offices, healthcare facilities, airports, educational and other institutions, hospitality spaces, and retail facilities, as well as residential interiors; and modular resilient flooring products.