CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) short interest rose 12.2% in July

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS – Get Free Report ) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 19,990,000 shares, an increase of 12.2% from the July 15th total of 17,820,000 shares. About 1.6% of the company’s shares are short-sold. Based on an average daily volume of 11,100,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

CVS Health stock rose 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $58.35 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $59.04 and its 200 day moving average is $65.55. The company has a market cap of $73.25 billion, a PE ratio of 10.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.61, and a current ratio of 0.81. CVS Health has a 52-week low of $52.77 and a 52-week high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS – Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $91.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.41 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% year over year. In the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.21 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that CVS Health will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 22. This represents an annualized dividend of $2.66 and a yield of 4.56%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.75%.

Institutional inputs and outputs

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. USA Financial Formulas boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 573.2% during the 4th quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 377 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 321 shares in the the last quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. First Community Trust NA boosted its stake in CVS Health by 116.2% in the second quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 562 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Steph & Co. raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 192.0% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 438 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s shares.

The Wall Street analyst weighs in

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CVS shares. Argus dropped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. UBS Group cut shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Leerink Partners lowered shares of CVS Health from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. SVB Leerink reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 target price (down from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $59.00 in a report on research on Tuesday, May 7. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. CVS Health currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.24, according to MarketBeat.com.

Check out our latest report on CVS

CVS Health Company Profile

(Get a free report)

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

Further reading

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