CarMax, Inc. (NYSE:KMX) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

CarMax, Inc. (NYSE:KMX) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,060,000 shares, a decrease of 7.0% from the January 15th total of 12,970,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,870,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.4 days. Approximately 7.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on KMX shares. StockNews.com raised shares of CarMax from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Mizuho raised their price target on CarMax from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on CarMax from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens began coverage on shares of CarMax in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $86.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of CarMax from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CarMax has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.50.

Insider Activity at CarMax

In related news, CFO Enrique N. Mayor-Mora sold 5,000 shares of CarMax stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.43, for a total transaction of $407,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,771.80. The trade was a 19.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO William D. Nash sold 120,513 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.24, for a total value of $10,031,502.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 181,683 shares in the company, valued at $15,123,292.92. The trade was a 39.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 264,467 shares of company stock worth $21,915,445 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CarMax

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KMX. Creative Planning raised its stake in CarMax by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 766 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CarMax in the third quarter valued at about $416,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of CarMax by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 15,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,183,000 after buying an additional 1,307 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of CarMax by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 17,304 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,339,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CarMax by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $565,000 after buying an additional 2,570 shares during the period.

CarMax Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE KMX opened at $89.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $13.73 billion, a PE ratio of 30.26, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.72. CarMax has a 12 month low of $65.83 and a 12 month high of $91.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $83.47 and a 200-day moving average of $79.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92.

CarMax (NYSE:KMX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.19. CarMax had a net margin of 1.77% and a return on equity of 7.49%. The company had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. CarMax’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CarMax will post 3.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About CarMax

CarMax, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer of used vehicles and related products in the United States. It operates in two segments: CarMax Sales Operations and CarMax Auto Finance. The CarMax Sales Operations segment offers customers a range of makes and models of used vehicles, including domestic, imported, and luxury vehicles, as well as hybrid and electric vehicles; used vehicle auctions; extended protection plans to customers at the time of sale; and reconditioning and vehicle repair services.