MarineMax, Inc. (NYSE:HZO) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

MarineMax, Inc. (NYSE:HZO - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,870,000 shares, an increase of 7.5% from the September 30th total of 1,740,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 275,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.8 days. Approximately 9.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on HZO. StockNews.com cut MarineMax from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Citigroup upgraded shares of MarineMax from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $40.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Benchmark assumed coverage on MarineMax in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial boosted their price target on MarineMax from $35.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of MarineMax from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MarineMax

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HZO. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in MarineMax during the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,000. Bfsg LLC raised its stake in MarineMax by 19.1% in the third quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 4,248 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $150,000 after buying an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. James Investment Research Inc. bought a new position in MarineMax in the third quarter worth approximately $203,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in MarineMax by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,158 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in MarineMax by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 8,251 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. 92.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MarineMax Trading Down 0.5 %

HZO stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $28.98. 276,454 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 310,269. The firm has a market capitalization of $646.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.48 and a beta of 1.82. The business has a 50 day moving average of $31.96 and a 200-day moving average of $31.06. MarineMax has a 52-week low of $22.51 and a 52-week high of $39.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 1.20.

MarineMax (NYSE:HZO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The specialty retailer reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.06. MarineMax had a return on equity of 6.26% and a net margin of 2.00%. The firm had revenue of $563.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $576.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MarineMax will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About MarineMax

MarineMax, Inc operates as a recreational boat and yacht retailer and superyacht services company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Retail Operations and Product Manufacturing. The company sells new and used recreational boats, including pleasure and fishing boats, mega-yachts, yachts, sport cruisers, motor yachts, e-power yachts, pontoon boats, ski boats, jet boats, and other recreational boats.