Short Interest in CarMax, Inc. (NYSE:KMX) Rises By 8.1%

CarMax, Inc. (NYSE:KMX) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 17,180,000 shares, a growth of 8.1% from the September 15th total of 15,890,000 shares. Currently, 11.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,840,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 9.3 days.

CarMax Stock Performance

CarMax stock opened at $75.12 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $78.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.93. The company has a market cap of $11.72 billion, a PE ratio of 29.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.68. CarMax has a twelve month low of $59.66 and a twelve month high of $88.22.

CarMax (NYSE:KMX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.01). CarMax had a return on equity of 6.83% and a net margin of 1.61%. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CarMax will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded CarMax to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. BNP Paribas raised CarMax to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of CarMax in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of CarMax in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of CarMax from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CarMax presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.73.

Insider Activity at CarMax

In related news, COO Charles Joseph Wilson sold 10,021 shares of CarMax stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.02, for a total transaction of $801,880.42. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,249,032.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other CarMax news, COO Charles Joseph Wilson sold 10,021 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.02, for a total transaction of $801,880.42. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 15,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,249,032.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mohammad Shamim sold 25,000 shares of CarMax stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.26, for a total transaction of $2,056,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,738 shares in the company, valued at $965,567.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CarMax

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CarMax by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,076,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,387,222,000 after acquiring an additional 222,132 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP lifted its holdings in CarMax by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 2,386,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,005,000 after buying an additional 47,184 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in CarMax by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,007,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,230,000 after buying an additional 51,397 shares during the period. Vulcan Value Partners LLC grew its stake in CarMax by 299.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 1,827,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,773,000 after acquiring an additional 1,369,986 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of CarMax by 21.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,656,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,479,000 after acquiring an additional 288,165 shares during the period.

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.