Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHC) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHC) saw a significant growth in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,990,000 shares, a growth of 7.5% from the October 15th total of 5,570,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,480,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Institutional Trading of Acadia Healthcare

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Acadia Healthcare by 9.7% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 9,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $782,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its stake in Acadia Healthcare by 3.8% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 88,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,391,000 after buying an additional 3,263 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in Acadia Healthcare during the first quarter worth about $1,259,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in Acadia Healthcare by 2.3% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 202,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,046,000 after acquiring an additional 4,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in Acadia Healthcare by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 58,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,637,000 after acquiring an additional 7,491 shares during the last quarter.

Acadia Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ACHC opened at $37.82 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $58.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.40, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.33. Acadia Healthcare has a 52 week low of $37.78 and a 52 week high of $87.77.

Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.01. Acadia Healthcare had a return on equity of 11.12% and a net margin of 8.99%. The company had revenue of $815.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $819.42 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Acadia Healthcare will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ACHC. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Acadia Healthcare from $83.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $94.00 price target on shares of Acadia Healthcare in a research note on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Acadia Healthcare from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Acadia Healthcare from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Acadia Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Acadia Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.67.

About Acadia Healthcare

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc provides behavioral healthcare services in the United States and Puerto Rico. The company develops and operates acute inpatient psychiatric facilities, specialty treatment facilities comprising residential recovery facilities and eating disorder facilities, comprehensive treatment centers, and residential treatment centers, as well as facilities offering outpatient behavioral healthcare services for the behavioral healthcare and recovery needs of communities.