Core & Main, Inc. (NYSE:CNM) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Core & Main, Inc. (NYSE:CNM - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,050,000 shares, a growth of 6.0% from the November 30th total of 12,310,000 shares. Currently, 6.9% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,480,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.3 days.

Insider Activity at Core & Main

In related news, Director Margaret Newman sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.25, for a total value of $828,750.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,769 shares in the company, valued at $650,237.25. This represents a 56.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey D. Giles sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.71, for a total transaction of $1,367,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $635,456.65. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 290,000 shares of company stock valued at $15,926,000 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNM. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Core & Main in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Core & Main in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Core & Main in the third quarter worth about $49,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Core & Main by 61.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,348 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Core & Main during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CNM. Barclays raised their target price on Core & Main from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Core & Main from $38.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America reduced 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Core & Main from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Core & Main from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Core & Main presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.10.

Core & Main Stock Performance

CNM stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $50.91. The company had a trading volume of 1,211,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,580,100. Core & Main has a 12 month low of $37.22 and a 12 month high of $62.15. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $48.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.75. The firm has a market cap of $10.11 billion, a PE ratio of 23.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 2.14.

Core & Main (NYSE:CNM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.04. Core & Main had a net margin of 5.71% and a return on equity of 24.71%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. Core & Main's revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Core & Main will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.