America’s Car-Mart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRMT) Short Interest Up 31.8% in September

America’s Car-Mart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRMT) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 937,300 shares, a growth of 31.8% from the September 15th total of 711,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 118,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.9 days.

Insider Activity at America’s Car-Mart

In other America’s Car-Mart news, major shareholder Adam K. Peterson acquired 813,953 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $43.00 per share, with a total value of $34,999,979.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 1,582,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,041,609. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Joshua G. Welch bought 23,255 shares of America’s Car-Mart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $43.00 per share, with a total value of $999,965.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 148,955 shares in the company, valued at $6,405,065. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Adam K. Peterson purchased 813,953 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $43.00 per share, with a total value of $34,999,979.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 1,582,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,041,609. This represents a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 14.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of America’s Car-Mart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C boosted its holdings in shares of America’s Car-Mart by 459.9% during the 2nd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 22,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,341,000 after acquiring an additional 18,290 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of America’s Car-Mart during the second quarter valued at about $1,449,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of America’s Car-Mart during the second quarter valued at about $221,000. BOKF NA grew its holdings in shares of America’s Car-Mart by 15.2% during the second quarter. BOKF NA now owns 28,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,712,000 after purchasing an additional 3,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of America’s Car-Mart by 12.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 905 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of America’s Car-Mart from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.00.

America’s Car-Mart Stock Performance

Shares of America’s Car-Mart stock traded up $1.09 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $43.00. 183,556 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 103,953. America’s Car-Mart has a 1-year low of $39.60 and a 1-year high of $85.68. The company has a market cap of $274.86 million, a P/E ratio of -8.69, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $51.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.98.

America’s Car-Mart (NASDAQ:CRMT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.81). The company had revenue of $347.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $338.78 million. America’s Car-Mart had a negative return on equity of 7.75% and a negative net margin of 2.66%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that America’s Car-Mart will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

America’s Car-Mart Company Profile

America’s Car-Mart, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an automotive retailer for the used car market in the United States. It primarily sells older model used vehicles and provides financing for its customers. The company was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Rogers, Arkansas.