Short Interest in CarMax, Inc. (NYSE:KMX) Drops By 13.9%

CarMax, Inc. (NYSE:KMX) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 14,338,051 shares, a decline of 13.9% from the January 15th total of 16,653,471 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,187,316 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.5 days. Currently, 10.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Currently, 10.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,187,316 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on KMX shares. William Blair lowered CarMax from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $35.00 target price on shares of CarMax in a report on Monday, December 8th. Wedbush cut their price target on shares of CarMax from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of CarMax from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of CarMax from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CarMax presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $39.21.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CarMax

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in CarMax by 151.8% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,930,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,429,000 after buying an additional 4,780,903 shares during the last quarter. SRS Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CarMax by 1,717.5% during the fourth quarter. SRS Investment Management LLC now owns 5,637,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,845,000 after acquiring an additional 5,327,603 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CarMax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $159,232,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of CarMax by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,985,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,023,000 after purchasing an additional 300,694 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of CarMax by 73.7% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,522,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,074,000 after buying an additional 1,494,205 shares in the last quarter.

CarMax Stock Up 8.6%

KMX traded up $3.64 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $45.89. 3,181,704 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,581,783. The stock has a market cap of $6.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.35. CarMax has a 1-year low of $30.26 and a 1-year high of $88.52. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $43.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.74.

CarMax (NYSE:KMX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $5.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.66 billion. CarMax had a net margin of 1.77% and a return on equity of 7.72%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that CarMax will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About CarMax

CarMax (NYSE: KMX) is a leading retailer of used vehicles in the United States, offering customers a streamlined, no-haggle purchasing experience. The company’s inventory spans a broad range of makes and models, each of which undergoes a comprehensive inspection process before being offered for sale. Customers can shop in person at CarMax’s retail locations or browse the company’s online platform, which provides detailed vehicle histories, virtual tours and contactless purchasing options.

Originally launched in 1993 as a division of Circuit City, CarMax became an independent, publicly traded company in 1997.