Short Interest in Core & Main, Inc. (NYSE:CNM) Declines By 9.3%

Core & Main, Inc. (NYSE:CNM) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,020,000 shares, a drop of 9.3% from the October 15th total of 11,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,820,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.5 days. Approximately 9.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Core & Main from $34.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 7th. Loop Capital raised their target price on Core & Main from $33.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, August 11th. Credit Suisse Group boosted their target price on Core & Main from $28.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 7th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Core & Main from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Core & Main from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.55.

Insider Activity

In other Core & Main news, VP John Weldon Stephens sold 11,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.04, for a total value of $366,272.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,468 shares in the company, valued at $107,646.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Cd&R Investment Associates X, sold 21,125,728 shares of Core & Main stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.01, for a total value of $612,857,369.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP John Weldon Stephens sold 11,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.04, for a total transaction of $366,272.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,468 shares in the company, valued at $107,646.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 46,258,366 shares of company stock valued at $1,377,894,477. 3.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Core & Main

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new stake in Core & Main in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Core & Main during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Core & Main in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Core & Main in the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Kepos Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Core & Main in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.19% of the company’s stock.

Core & Main Stock Performance

Core & Main stock traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $33.77. 94,184 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,424,867. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.90. Core & Main has a 12-month low of $18.75 and a 12-month high of $34.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.59. The stock has a market cap of $7.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95.

Core & Main (NYSE:CNM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 6th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.01). Core & Main had a net margin of 5.45% and a return on equity of 15.75%. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Core & Main will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

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 accessories, installation, software, and other services.