Short Interest in America’s Car-Mart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRMT) Declines By 5.7%

America’s Car-Mart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRMT) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 938,400 shares, a decline of 5.7% from the May 31st total of 995,200 shares. Currently, 16.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 73,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 12.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of America’s Car-Mart in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of America’s Car-Mart from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of America’s Car-Mart from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.00.

America’s Car-Mart Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of America’s Car-Mart stock traded down $0.88 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $59.63. The company had a trading volume of 30,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 97,484. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.98. The stock has a market cap of $381.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.05, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.70. America’s Car-Mart has a 12-month low of $55.00 and a 12-month high of $127.96.

America’s Car-Mart (NASDAQ:CRMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 18th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06. The business had revenue of $364.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $361.48 million. America’s Car-Mart had a negative net margin of 2.25% and a negative return on equity of 6.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that America’s Car-Mart will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Douglas W. Jr. Campbell purchased 3,229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $61.62 per share, with a total value of $198,970.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 70,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,365,222.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Adam K. Peterson bought 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $57.85 per share, for a total transaction of $491,725.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 728,450 shares in the company, valued at $42,140,832.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Douglas W. Jr. Campbell purchased 3,229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $61.62 per share, for a total transaction of $198,970.98. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 70,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,365,222.42. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 51,689 shares of company stock valued at $2,999,748. Corporate insiders own 14.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of America’s Car-Mart

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Magnolia Group LLC lifted its holdings in America’s Car-Mart by 14.1% in the first quarter. Magnolia Group LLC now owns 719,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,983,000 after acquiring an additional 88,899 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in America’s Car-Mart by 1.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 406,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,977,000 after buying an additional 5,349 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its position in America’s Car-Mart by 2.1% during the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 224,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,363,000 after buying an additional 4,604 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in America’s Car-Mart by 5.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 123,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,261,000 after buying an additional 6,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of America’s Car-Mart by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 52,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,957,000 after acquiring an additional 4,074 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.10% of the company’s stock.

America’s Car-Mart Company Profile

America's Car-Mart, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an automotive retailer 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.