Short Interest in Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHC) Expands By 10.4%

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHC) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,610,000 shares, an increase of 10.4% from the May 15th total of 3,270,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 877,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Acadia Healthcare Stock Performance

ACHC stock opened at $68.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $6.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -483.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32. Acadia Healthcare has a 1 year low of $62.04 and a 1 year high of $87.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $69.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.26.

Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $768.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $779.20 million. Acadia Healthcare had a positive return on equity of 11.49% and a negative net margin of 0.38%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Acadia Healthcare will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acadia Healthcare

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Acadia Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Acadia Healthcare during the first quarter valued at about $48,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Acadia Healthcare by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in Acadia Healthcare during the third quarter valued at about $96,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Acadia Healthcare by 422.3% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 1,478 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on ACHC. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Acadia Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Acadia Healthcare from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays decreased their target price on Acadia Healthcare from $91.00 to $89.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. TheStreet raised Acadia Healthcare from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Acadia Healthcare from $84.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.56.

About Acadia Healthcare

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc provides behavioral healthcare services in the United States and Puerto Rico. The company develops and operates acute inpatient psychiatric facilities, specialty treatment facilities comprising residential recovery facilities and eating disorder facilities, comprehensive treatment centers, and residential treatment centers, as well as facilities offering outpatient behavioral healthcare services for the behavioral healthcare and recovery needs of communities.