CDW Co. (NASDAQ:CDW) Short Interest Up 32.6% in May

CDW Co. (NASDAQ:CDW) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,950,000 shares, an increase of 32.6% from the April 30th total of 2,980,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,500,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Transactions at CDW

In other CDW news, insider Frederick J. Kulevich sold 28,159 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.90, for a total value of $5,375,553.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,077 shares in the company, valued at $6,887,099.30. This represents a 43.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christine A. Leahy sold 40,917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.42, for a total value of $7,423,162.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 144,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,293,382.02. The trade was a 22.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CDW

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in CDW by 78.9% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 170 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CDW in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of CDW in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in CDW by 39.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 183 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in CDW during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CDW. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of CDW from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of CDW from $222.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of CDW from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on CDW from $193.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on CDW from $223.00 to $205.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.38.

CDW Stock Performance

NASDAQ CDW opened at $179.80 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $23.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.56, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.80. CDW has a 12-month low of $137.31 and a 12-month high of $241.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38.

CDW (NASDAQ:CDW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The information technology services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.19. CDW had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 55.42%. The firm had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.92 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that CDW will post 9.41 EPS for the current year.

CDW Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 26th will be given a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. CDW’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.98%.

CDW declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 5th that permits the company to repurchase $750.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 2.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About CDW

CDW Corporation provides information technology (IT) solutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. It operates through three segments: Corporate, Small Business, and Public. The company offers discrete hardware and software products and services, as well as integrated IT solutions, including on-premise and cloud capabilities across hybrid infrastructure, digital experience, and security.