As you can see from this graph, short investors have started to cover their short positions in Northern Foods (NFDS) since late March, further fueling the notion that food prices are on the up. 13.79% of NFDS' Market Cap is on Loan (%MCOL) to short investors, down from 17% in mid-March, which was a two-year high. Utilisation has decreased from 54% to 43% in the past week. Interestingly, there are 33 Days to Cover, a significant amount for people who want to take profits imminently. Despite this short covering NFDS is still the second most borrowed stock in the UK Food and Beverage sector, after Uniliver at 13.98%.
This short covering is also true of Premier Foods (PFD), which now has 8% of its Market Cap on Loan, down from a similar two-year high in mid-April of 11.5%. Utilisation is at 27%, and there are 13.21 Days to Cover. Associated British Foods (ABF) has also seen a good deal of short covering, with its %MCOL dropping from 5.8% to 4% in the last six weeks.
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