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Short-interest for most consumer staple stocks that are a part of Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLP) moved higher as compared to the previous month. Industry-wise, bets were higher for all six industries, except Tobacco. Average short interest was 1.83%, up from 1.69% last month.
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)
Highest and lowest short interest in June:
The least shorted stocks were the same as last month – Walmart (WMT), Philip Morris (PM), Coca-Cola (KO), and Procter & Gamble (PG), with a short interest of 0.45%, 0.64%, 0.75%, and 0.85%, respectively.
The highest short interest also repeated with Campbell Soup (CPB) as the most shorted, followed by Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), Lamb Weston (LW) and Molson Coors Beverage (TAP) — 9.49%, 8.30%, 5.38%, and 4.50% respectively.
Industry Analysis:
In the consumer defensive/staples sector, Food Products remained the most shorted industry with an average 2.65% short interest, higher than last month’s 2.48%.
The Distribution & Retail industry had the second-highest short interest of 2% in June, vs. 1.75% in May.
Household Products and Beverages saw a rise in short interest to 1.22% and 1.6% respectively.
The Tobacco industry was the only one that saw a drop in short-selling activity, down to 1.11%, from 1.3% last month.
The S&P500’s consumer staples sector ETF (XLP) is up nearly 7.52% YTD, compared to a broader S&P 500 Index (SP500) gain of 17.77%.
Stocks with the highest weightage in XLP fund — Procter & Gamble (PG), Costco (COST), and Walmart (WMT) jumped 13.7%, 27.7%, and 31.8% respectively, on a YTD basis.
