CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 21,850,000 shares, a growth of 5.0% from the October 15th total of 20,800,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 10,800,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $56.08 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $70.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.23, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.55. CVS Health has a 52 week low of $52.71 and a 52 week high of $83.25. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $59.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.60.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.01. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The firm had revenue of $95.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that CVS Health will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.74%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 67.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised CVS Health from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $60.00 to $66.00 in a report on Monday. StockNews.com lowered CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.78.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CVS. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,339 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 1,352 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc. raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,010 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 15,833 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,680 shares during the last quarter. Rockport Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health during the 1st quarter worth approximately $242,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 34.9% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 86,556 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $6,904,000 after purchasing an additional 22,400 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CVS Health

CVS Health Corporation provides health solutions in the United States. It operates through Health Care Benefits, Health Services, and Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness segments. The Health Care Benefits segment offers traditional, voluntary, and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services.