Dayforce, Inc. (NYSE:DAY) Short Interest Down 38.3% in August

Key Points

• Dayforce, Inc. experienced a significant decline in short interest in August, dropping by 38.3% to 4,720,000 shares, which represents 3.1% of total shares sold short.
• Several brokerages have adjusted their ratings on Dayforce, with William Blair and TD Cowen downgrading the stock to a "hold" rating, while Deutsche Bank raised the target price from $60 to $70.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $0.61, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue rising 9.8% year-over-year to $464.7 million.

Dayforce, Inc. (NYSE:DAY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 4,720,000 shares, a decline of 38.3% from the August 15th total of 7,650,000 shares. Currently, 3.1% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,270,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Based on an average daily volume of 2,270,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 3.1% of the company's shares are short sold.

Dayforce Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:DAY traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $68.81. 2,993,779 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,982,005. Dayforce has a twelve month low of $48.01 and a twelve month high of $82.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.31 and a 200 day moving average of $58.80. The stock has a market cap of $10.99 billion, a PE ratio of 229.37, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.14.

Dayforce (NYSE:DAY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $464.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $457.83 million. Dayforce had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 2.65%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.48 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Dayforce will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DAY. Needham & Company LLC cut Dayforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on Dayforce from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. William Blair cut Dayforce from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $70.00 price target (down from $72.00) on shares of Dayforce in a research note on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen lowered Dayforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $70.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Dayforce news, EVP Samer Alkharrat sold 4,659 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.69, for a total transaction of $278,095.71. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 127,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,618,354.08. The trade was a 3.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Stephen H. Holdridge sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.95, for a total value of $137,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 186,811 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,880,618.45. This trade represents a 1.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,382 shares of company stock valued at $677,760. 4.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dayforce

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of Dayforce by 1,126.8% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 72,653 shares of the company's stock worth $4,024,000 after purchasing an additional 66,731 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Dayforce in the second quarter worth $54,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Dayforce by 44.1% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 32,928 shares of the company's stock worth $1,824,000 after purchasing an additional 10,081 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Dayforce by 208.7% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,187 shares of the company's stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 4,859 shares during the period. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in shares of Dayforce in the second quarter worth $26,000.

About Dayforce

Dayforce Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a human capital management (HCM) software company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers Dayforce, a cloud HCM platform that provides human resources, payroll and tax, workforce management, wallet, benefits, and talent intelligence functionalities; and Powerpay, a cloud HR and payroll solution for the small business market.