CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 19,750,000 shares, an increase of 13.5% from the September 15th total of 17,400,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 9,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

CVS Health Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of CVS Health stock opened at $65.01 on Thursday. CVS Health has a 52-week low of $52.77 and a 52-week high of $83.25. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.86.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.10. CVS Health had a return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 1.98%. The business had revenue of $91.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.21 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CVS Health will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. First Community Trust NA grew its holdings in CVS Health by 116.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 562 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in CVS Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Steph & Co. grew its holdings in CVS Health by 192.0% during the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 438 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in CVS Health by 11,840.0% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 597 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on CVS. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on CVS Health from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.26.

About CVS Health

CVS Health Corporation provides health solutions in the United States. It operates through Health Care Benefits, Health Services, and Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness segments. The Health Care Benefits segment offers traditional, voluntary, and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services.