Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE:TD) Short Interest Update

The Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE:TD) experienced a significant increase in short interest throughout March. As of March 15th, short interest amounted to 17,850,000 shares, which represents a remarkable growth of 52.3% from the previous total of 11,720,000 shares reported on February 28th. Currently, about 1.0% of the bank's shares are sold short. With an average daily trading volume of 2,200,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio stands at 8.1 days.

Institutional Trading of Toronto-Dominion Bank

Recently, several hedge funds and institutional investors have exchanged shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD). Asahi Life Asset Management Co. Ltd. made a new investment in TD during the fourth quarter, acquiring shares worth approximately $416,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in the bank by 57.1% in the third quarter, now owning 26,755 shares valued at $1,693,000 after purchasing an additional 9,725 shares in the last quarter. Similarly, FMR LLC enhanced its position by 9.9% during the same quarter, now holding 6,553,761 shares worth about $414,417,000 after an additional 587,947 shares were acquired. Vanguard Group Inc. also expanded its stake in TD by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, now owning 74,118,551 shares valued at approximately $3,946,072,000 after purchasing an extra 1,415,934 shares. Furthermore, Nicola Wealth Management Ltd. raised its shareholding in the bank by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, holding 510,002 shares valued at $27,153,000 after acquiring an additional 68,400 shares. A total of 52.37% of Toronto-Dominion Bank's stock is held by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Recent reports from various brokerages have included ratings changes regarding TD. Scotiabank revised its rating for Toronto-Dominion Bank from "sector outperform" to "sector perform" on December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group changed its outlook from "buy" to "hold" on February 18th. Desjardins also downgraded TD from a "buy" to a "hold" rating on December 6th. Conversely, Bank of America upgraded its rating from "neutral" to "buy" on January 17th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded the bank from "market perform" to "outperform" on December 19th. According to MarketBeat, two analysts have issued a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating, and one analyst has designated a strong buy rating for the stock. As of now, Toronto-Dominion Bank holds an average rating of "Hold" along with a consensus target price of $80.50.

Toronto-Dominion Bank Stock Performance

On the trading day last Friday, TD's stock decreased by $0.65, leading to a price of $60.31. The trading volume captured 4,689,721 shares, surpassing the average volume of 2,563,599. The bank has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11 and both current and quick ratios of 1.03. Over the past year, Toronto-Dominion Bank has seen a low of $51.25 and a high of $64.91. The fifty-day simple moving average is currently $58.99, while the 200-day simple moving average stands at $57.61. Its market capitalization is valued at approximately $105.68 billion, alongside a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38 and a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95, with a beta of 0.83.

Toronto-Dominion Bank Cuts Dividend

The bank has announced a quarterly dividend set for payment on April 30th. Shareholders on record as of April 10th will receive a dividend of $0.7278. This ex-dividend date is also noted as April 10th. The annualized dividend comes to $2.91, presenting a yield of 4.83%. Currently, Toronto-Dominion Bank's payout ratio is at 85.29%.

Toronto-Dominion Bank Company Profile

The Toronto-Dominion Bank, along with its subsidiaries, offers a wide range of financial products and services domestically in Canada, in the United States, and on an international scale. The bank operates through four main segments: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, U.S. Retail, Wealth Management and Insurance, and Wholesale Banking.

Toronto-Dominion, Short, Investors