Core & Main, Inc. (NYSE:CNM) Short Interest Down 5.7% in December

Core & Main, Inc. (NYSE:CNM) saw a large decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,300,000 shares, a decline of 5.7% from the December 15th total of 13,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,310,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.3 days. Approximately 6.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Core & Main from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Core & Main from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays raised their price target on Core & Main from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on Core & Main from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price (up previously from $53.00) on shares of Core & Main in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Core & Main presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Bradford A. Cowles sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.07, for a total value of $2,753,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 18,423 shares in the company, valued at $1,014,554.61. This trade represents a 73.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey D. Giles sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.71, for a total transaction of $1,367,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,615 shares in the company, valued at $635,456.65. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 427,426 shares of company stock worth $22,923,825. Corporate insiders own 3.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Core & Main

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNM. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Core & Main in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Core & Main during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Core & Main by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Core & Main during the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Core & Main by 246.0% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 962 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 684 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.19% of the company’s stock.

Core & Main Stock Performance

Core & Main stock opened at $55.21 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $49.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. Core & Main has a 52 week low of $37.22 and a 52 week high of $62.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.92, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.02.

Core & Main (NYSE:CNM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.04. Core & Main had a net margin of 5.71% and a return on equity of 24.71%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Core & Main will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Core & Main Company Profile

Core & Main, Inc is a specialty distributor focused on water, wastewater, storm drainage and fire protection products, and related services. The company provides infrastructure solutions to municipalities, private water companies and professional contractors across municipal, non-residential, and residential end markets, nationwide.