Karooooo Ltd. (NASDAQ:KARO) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Karooooo Ltd. (NASDAQ:KARO) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 21,000 shares, a decrease of 5.8% from the August 15th total of 22,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 26,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.8 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Karooooo Stock Down 6.0 %

NASDAQ KARO opened at $38.76 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $828.69 million, a P/E ratio of 30.52 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $36.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.09. Karooooo has a one year low of $18.59 and a one year high of $43.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52.

Karooooo (NASDAQ:KARO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.03. Karooooo had a net margin of 18.70% and a return on equity of 27.88%. The business had revenue of $58.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.54 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Karooooo will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Karooooo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. This is an increase from Karooooo’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Karooooo’s payout ratio is currently 340.16%.

Institutional Trading of Karooooo

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KARO. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Karooooo during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,387,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Karooooo by 5.4% during the second quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 209,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,001,000 after acquiring an additional 10,705 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Karooooo by 23.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 17,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 3,356 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Karooooo during the first quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Karooooo by 1.2% during the second quarter. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC now owns 175,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,138,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Karooooo from $31.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th.

Karooooo Company Profile

Karooooo Ltd. provides mobility software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform for connected vehicles in South Africa, rest of Africa, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and the United States. The company offers Fleet Telematics, a fleet management SaaS platform that provides real-time insights; LiveVision, which offers pro-active risk management and fleet visibility; MiFleet advanced fleet administration and business intelligence that provides cost management and administration capability services; and Karooooo Logistics, a software application for management of last mile delivery and general operational logistics.