Short Interest in Core & Main, Inc. (NYSE:CNM) Expands By 7.0%

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

Core & Main Price Performance

Shares of CNM opened at $43.87 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 2.29. Core & Main has a fifty-two week low of $27.98 and a fifty-two week high of $62.15. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.97. The company has a market capitalization of $8.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.04.

Core & Main (NYSE:CNM) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. Core & Main had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 5.58%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Core & Main will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Core & Main in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $52.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Core & Main from $57.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 6th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Core & Main from $64.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Core & Main from $65.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Core & Main from $60.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Core & Main news, Director James G. Castellano sold 12,500 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now owns 11,769 shares in the company, valued at $614,577.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Core & Main

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CNM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake 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 period. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its holdings in Core & Main by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 15,426,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $754,986,000 after purchasing an additional 39,475 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in Core & Main by 470.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,093,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,590,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200,591 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Core & Main by 37.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,208,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,974,000 after buying an additional 1,137,817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anomaly Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Core & Main by 35.9% in the 2nd quarter. Anomaly Capital Management LP now owns 3,608,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,601,000 after buying an additional 953,489 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.19% of the company’s stock.

About Core & Main

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.