Caesarstone Ltd. (NASDAQ:CSTE) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Caesarstone Ltd. (NASDAQ:CSTE) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 107,600 shares, a decline of 16.2% from the May 15th total of 128,400 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 99,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised Caesarstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th.

Caesarstone Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CSTE traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $5.74. The company had a trading volume of 63,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 68,346. Caesarstone has a 52 week low of $3.50 and a 52 week high of $6.81. The firm has a market cap of $198.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.81 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $5.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.72.

Caesarstone (NASDAQ:CSTE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The construction company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $118.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $126.70 million. Caesarstone had a negative return on equity of 13.29% and a negative net margin of 20.45%. On average, analysts forecast that Caesarstone will post -0.48 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caesarstone

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Caesarstone by 41.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 22,591 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 6,660 shares during the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Caesarstone in the fourth quarter worth about $113,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Caesarstone by 21,632.8% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 53,680 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 53,433 shares during the period. Acuitas Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Caesarstone in the 4th quarter worth $608,000. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Caesarstone by 89.7% during the first quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 329,827 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,349,000 after buying an additional 155,956 shares during the last quarter. 33.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Caesarstone

Caesarstone Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and markets engineered stone and other materials under the Caesarstone brand in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Australia, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Israel. The company's engineered stone slabs are primarily used as indoor and outdoor kitchen countertops in the renovation and remodeling, and residential construction sectors.