Core & Main, Inc. (NYSE:CNM) Short Interest Update

Core & Main, Inc. (NYSE:CNM) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,350,000 shares, a growth of 7.0% from the August 31st total of 8,740,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,690,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days. Currently, 4.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Core & Main Price Performance

NYSE CNM traded down $0.23 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $44.17. 1,056,494 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,634,996. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $47.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.02. Core & Main has a fifty-two week low of $27.98 and a fifty-two week high of $62.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a PE ratio of 20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.04.

Core & Main (NYSE:CNM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.13). Core & Main had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 5.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Core & Main will post 2.1 EPS for the current year.

Core & Main declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Core & Main

In related news, Director James G. Castellano sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total value of $652,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $614,577.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Core & Main

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CNM. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Core & Main by 35.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,138,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,038,457,000 after acquiring an additional 4,721,510 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Core & Main by 470.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,093,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,590,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200,591 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Core & Main by 915.9% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,586,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,073,000 after buying an additional 2,331,802 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Core & Main during the first quarter worth $98,876,000. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in Core & Main by 148.0% in the first quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 2,650,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,655,000 after buying an additional 1,581,389 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on CNM. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Core & Main from $57.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Core & Main from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Core & Main from $64.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Core & Main in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $52.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Core & Main from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.55.

Core & Main Company Profile

Core & Main, Inc distributes water, wastewater, storm drainage, and fire protection products and related services to municipalities, private water companies, and professional contractors in the municipal, non-residential, and residential end markets in the United States. Its products portfolio include pipes, valves, hydrants, fittings, and other products and services; storm drainage products, such as corrugated piping systems, retention basins, inline drains, manholes, grates, geosynthetics, erosion control, and other related products; fire protection products, including fire protection pipes, and sprinkler heads and devices, as well as fabrication services; and meter products, such as smart meter products, meter sets, meter accessories, installation, software, and other services.