BrightView Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BV) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 19% in March to 3,528,035 shares (about 3.9% of shares sold short), leaving a days-to-cover ratio of 7.6 and indicating elevated shorting activity.
• BrightView reported quarterly EPS of ($0.01), missing estimates by $0.02, while revenue beat at $614.7 million; the company posted a 7.85% ROE and a 1.9% net margin.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed with a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Hold" and a $14.68 target; the stock trades around $12.48 with a $1.18 billion market cap and a negative P/E.

BrightView Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BV - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 3,528,035 shares, an increase of 19.0% from the March 15th total of 2,964,541 shares. Approximately 3.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 461,451 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.6 days.

BrightView Stock Performance

Shares of BV traded up $0.35 on Friday, reaching $12.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 321,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 463,385. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -623.85 and a beta of 1.29. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $12.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.74. BrightView has a 12-month low of $11.06 and a 12-month high of $17.10.

BrightView (NYSE:BV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.01 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $614.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $589.91 million. BrightView had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 1.90%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.04 EPS. Research analysts forecast that BrightView will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BV has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of BrightView from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of BrightView from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of BrightView from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $11.10 price target on shares of BrightView in a report on Monday, February 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $14.68.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William L. Cornog purchased 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.46 per share, with a total value of $67,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $67,300. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BrightView

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of BrightView by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,076,380 shares of the company's stock worth $64,318,000 after buying an additional 155,059 shares during the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BrightView by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 4,858,860 shares of the company's stock worth $61,562,000 after buying an additional 300,982 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its holdings in shares of BrightView by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 3,648,496 shares of the company's stock worth $46,226,000 after buying an additional 80,446 shares during the last quarter. Harvey Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BrightView by 5.0% in the third quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 2,949,000 shares of the company's stock worth $39,517,000 after buying an additional 141,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in BrightView during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,565,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.41% of the company's stock.

About BrightView

BrightView Inc NYSE: BV is a leading commercial landscaping services company in the United States, offering a comprehensive suite of outdoor asset management solutions. The company's core business activities include landscape maintenance, development and enhancement services tailored to a wide array of clients such as corporate campuses, healthcare facilities, multi-family residential properties, retail centers and municipalities.

BrightView's service portfolio covers routine grounds maintenance, landscape construction and design-build, irrigation system installation and management, tree care, seasonal color programs and snow and ice management.

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