Short interest for most staple stocks decline in November: Walmart, Philip Morris least shorted

The short-interest on 24 out of 38 consumer staple stocks, that are part of the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLP), increased at the end of November compared to last month. The remaining 14 stocks saw a decline in their short interest.

Industry-wise, short interest bets moved higher for all six sub-sectors, and the grand total of short interest increased to 1.99% in November from 1.82% in October.

Industry Analysis:

In the consumer defensive/staples sector, Food Products remained the top most shorted industry, like the last few months, with an average short interest of 2.73% vs. the previous month’s 2.51%.

The Distribution & Retail industry had the second-highest short interest of 2.64% at November end, vs. 2.37% during the October end.

Short interest in the Household products segment was lowest at 1.13%, compared to 1.08% last month. Tobacco was the second-lowest segment with a short interest of 1.16%, vs. previous month’s 1.13%.

Personal Care Products short interest increased to 2.31% from 2.03%, while that for Beverages was 1.51% vs. 1.37% prior.

Short interest, which could be an indicator of pessimism, calculates the number of shares sold against the company float. (Short Interest % = Number of Shares Sold Short ÷ Stock Float)

Least shorted stocks:

• Walmart (WMT): 0.47% vs. 0.73% last month
• Philip Morris International (PM): 0.59% vs. 0.65%
• Coca-Cola (KO): 0.67% vs. 0.80%
• Mondelez International (MDLZ) 0.85% vs. 0.96%
• Procter & Gamble (PG): 0.88% vs. 0.80%

Most shorted stocks:

• Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA): 14.26% vs. 12.32%
• Campbell Soup (CPB): 7.52% vs. 7.6%
• Brown-Forman (BF.B) 6.71% vs. 7.24%
• Lamb Weston (LW) 5.30% vs. 5.23%
• Molson Coors Beverage (TAP) 5.04% vs. 4.28%

The S&P500’s consumer staples sector ETF (NYSEARCA:XLP) gained by 3.87% in November, compared to a broader S&P 500 Index (SP500) gain of 5.73%.