CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Short Interest Up 5.0% in October

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 21,850,000 shares, a growth of 5.0% from the October 15th total of 20,800,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 10,800,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CVS. StockNews.com cut CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen raised shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $59.00 to $85.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.78.

CVS Health Price Performance

CVS traded up $3.21 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $56.40. 8,145,087 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,327,576. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The business's 50-day moving average price is $59.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.60. CVS Health has a 1-year low of $52.71 and a 1-year high of $83.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.97 billion, a PE ratio of 13.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.55.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.01. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The firm had revenue of $95.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $92.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. CVS Health's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CVS Health will post 5.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.72%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CVS. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in CVS Health in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in CVS Health in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CVS Health during the first quarter worth about $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in CVS Health in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in CVS Health in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company's stock.

About CVS Health

CVS Health Corporation provides health solutions in the United States. It operates through Health Care Benefits, Health Services, and Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness segments. The Health Care Benefits segment offers traditional, voluntary, and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services.