Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,300,000 shares, a growth of 39.4% from the January 31st total of 1,650,000 shares. Currently, 4.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 866,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michelle F. Link sold 2,208 shares of Maximus stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.83, for a total transaction of $163,016.64. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,567 shares in the company, valued at $484,841.61. The trade was a 25.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ilene R. Baylinson sold 14,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $988,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $171,167.68. This trade represents a 85.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Maximus

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMS. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new position in shares of Maximus during the fourth quarter valued at $4,618,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its position in Maximus by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 296,476 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $22,132,000 after buying an additional 83,390 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Maximus in the 4th quarter worth $1,113,000. Versor Investments LP increased its position in Maximus by 213.5% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,500 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $792,000 after buying an additional 5,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Maximus by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 32,134 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,399,000 after acquiring an additional 8,138 shares during the period. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Maximus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Raymond James upgraded Maximus from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd.

Maximus Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MMS traded down $0.84 on Monday, hitting $64.36. 631,164 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 467,171. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of 13.84 and a beta of 0.72. Maximus has a 52 week low of $63.77 and a 52 week high of $93.97.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The health services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.22. Maximus had a net margin of 5.28% and a return on equity of 21.95%. As a group, research analysts expect that Maximus will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Maximus Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Saturday, February 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. Maximus’s payout ratio is currently 25.81%.

Maximus Company Profile

Maximus, Inc operates as a provider of government services in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Federal Services, U.S. Services, and Outside the U.S. The U.S. Services segment offers program eligibility support and enrollment; centralized multilingual customer contact centers, multichannel, and digital self-service options for enrollment; application assistance and independent health plan choice counseling; beneficiary outreach, education, eligibility, enrollment, and redeterminations; and person-centered independent disability, long-term sick, and other health assessments.