Arcosa, Inc. (NYSE:ACA) Short Interest Up 25.6% in March

Key Points

• Short interest rose 25.6% in March to 1,135,262 shares (about 2.3% of the stock), with a short-interest ratio of roughly 2.4 days based on average daily volume.
• Arcosa beat EPS estimates for the quarter ($1.15 vs. $0.95) while revenue slightly missed ($716.7M vs. $719.5M); the stock traded at $102.44, below the average analyst price target of $120 and an overall rating of Moderate Buy (3 Buys, 1 Hold).
• The company pays a small quarterly dividend of $0.05 (0.2% yield) and is largely institutionally owned, with about 90.66% of shares held by institutional investors.

Arcosa, Inc. (NYSE:ACA - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,135,262 shares, a growth of 25.6% from the February 26th total of 904,013 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 470,114 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on ACA. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Arcosa from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised Arcosa from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Arcosa from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $120.00.

Arcosa Stock Down 0.4%

ACA stock traded down $0.41 during trading on Monday, reaching $102.44. The stock had a trading volume of 156,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 292,823. The company's 50 day moving average is $115.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.19. The company has a market capitalization of $5.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.01. Arcosa has a one year low of $68.11 and a one year high of $131.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Arcosa (NYSE:ACA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.20. Arcosa had a return on equity of 8.64% and a net margin of 7.23%.The business had revenue of $716.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $719.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Arcosa will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Arcosa Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Arcosa's payout ratio is currently 4.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ACA. Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arcosa during the 2nd quarter valued at $7,884,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its holdings in Arcosa by 74.7% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 141,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,260,000 after purchasing an additional 60,500 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Arcosa by 29.0% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 617,265 shares of the company's stock worth $53,523,000 after purchasing an additional 138,676 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in Arcosa by 69.3% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 22,037 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,065,000 after acquiring an additional 9,023 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio lifted its position in shares of Arcosa by 17.0% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 75,600 shares of the company's stock worth $7,084,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000 shares in the last quarter. 90.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arcosa Company Profile

Arcosa, Inc NYSE: ACA is a Dallas‐based industrial company that was formed through the spin‐off of Trinity Industries' construction products business in 2018. Since its inception, Arcosa has focused on the manufacture and sale of critical infrastructure components, serving a diverse set of end markets including transportation, construction and energy.

The company's Construction Products segment produces a broad range of highway safety products, such as guardrail systems, sign supports and crash cushions, as well as aggregates and ready‐mix concrete.

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