Short Interest in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) Decreases By 27.0%

Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,650,000 shares, a drop of 27.0% from the January 15th total of 2,260,000 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 921,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Bruce Caswell acquired 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $70.64 per share, for a total transaction of $247,240.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,491,624.56. The trade was a 1.28 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michelle F. Link sold 2,208 shares of Maximus stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.83, for a total transaction of $163,016.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $484,841.61. This represents a 25.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 7,063 shares of company stock worth $502,017. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Maximus in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,718,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Maximus by 189.1% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 423,298 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $31,599,000 after buying an additional 276,859 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Maximus by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 815,133 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $60,850,000 after buying an additional 94,858 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Maximus by 128.8% in the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 15,328 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,144,000 after buying an additional 8,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in Maximus in the fourth quarter worth approximately $978,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Maximus Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MMS traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $67.69. 711,566 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 679,035. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 0.72. Maximus has a 52 week low of $66.52 and a 52 week high of $93.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $74.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.48.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The health services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.22. Maximus had a return on equity of 21.95% and a net margin of 5.28%. Analysts predict that Maximus will post 6.05 EPS for the current year.

Maximus Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, February 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Maximus’s payout ratio is 25.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Maximus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James raised shares of Maximus from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd.

Maximus Company Profile

Maximus, Inc operates as a provider of government services in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Federal Services, U.S. Services, and Outside the U.S. The U.S. Services segment offers program eligibility support and enrollment; centralized multilingual customer contact centers, multichannel, and digital self-service options for enrollment; application assistance and independent health plan choice counseling; beneficiary outreach, education, eligibility, enrollment, and redeterminations; and person-centered independent disability, long-term sick, and other health assessments.