Centuri Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CTRI) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 24.1% to 3,541,704 shares as of March 31, equal to about 3.5% of the stock and a short-interest ratio of 2.6 days.
• Analyst views are mixed — Cantor Fitzgerald raised its target to $37.40 while Wells Fargo trimmed its target to $32 and Weiss Ratings maintained a sell; the consensus rating is Hold with an average target of $28.85.
• Centuri missed quarterly EPS ($0.17 vs. $0.20 expected) but reported revenue up 19.7% year-over-year to $858.6 million, with shares trading near $32.62 and a market cap of $3.29 billion.

Centuri Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CTRI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 3,541,704 shares, a growth of 24.1% from the March 15th total of 2,854,369 shares. Currently, 3.5% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,355,165 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on CTRI shares. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Centuri from $35.25 to $37.40 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Centuri in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Centuri from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.85.

Centuri Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of Centuri stock traded down $0.48 on Thursday, reaching $32.62. 875,054 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,340,989. Centuri has a one year low of $16.27 and a one year high of $34.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 141.83, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a 50-day moving average of $30.55 and a 200 day moving average of $26.10.

Centuri (NYSE:CTRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.03). Centuri had a return on equity of 5.09% and a net margin of 0.76%.The company had revenue of $858.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $740.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.21 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Centuri will post 0.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centuri

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in Centuri by 13,385.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,888 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,874 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in Centuri by 288.1% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,691 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its stake in Centuri by 59.7% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,045 shares of the company's stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 1,512 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Centuri by 121.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 3,037 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in Centuri in the 3rd quarter valued at $119,000.

Centuri Company Profile

Centuri Construction Group, Inc NYSE: CTRI is a heavy civil contractor specializing in water and wastewater infrastructure projects. The company delivers end-to-end services encompassing design-build, engineering, procurement and construction for water transmission mains, wastewater force mains, treatment facilities, pump and lift stations, and stormwater management systems.

Centuri’s core offerings include pipeline installation and rehabilitation, civil sitework, earthwork, structural concrete and slope protection.

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