Karooooo Ltd. (NASDAQ:KARO) Short Interest Up 41.4% in August

Key Points

• Karooooo Ltd. experienced a significant increase in short interest, rising 41.4% in August, bringing total short interest to 48,500 shares.
• Institutional interest has grown, with funds like Squarepoint Ops LLC increasing their stake by 6.8% and several others acquiring new positions.
• Wall Street analysts generally have a positive outlook, with an average price target of $58.25 and multiple analysts rating it as a "strong buy" or "buy."

Karooooo Ltd. (NASDAQ:KARO - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 48,500 shares, anincreaseof41.4% from the July 31st total of 34,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 78,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.6 days. Currently,0.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently,0.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 78,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.6 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Karooooo

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KARO. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of Karooooo by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 9,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in Karooooo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Northern Trust Corp acquired a new stake in Karooooo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $340,000. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd grew its holdings in Karooooo by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd now owns 143,470 shares of the company's stock worth $6,103,000 after acquiring an additional 10,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Karooooo by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,961 shares of the company's stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective (up previously from $58.00) on shares of Karooooo in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on Karooooo in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on Karooooo in a research note on Friday, August 29th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of Karooooo to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $53.00 price objective (up from $43.00) on shares of Karooooo in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Karooooo has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.25.

Karooooo Price Performance

Karooooo stock traded up $1.87 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $54.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 76,443 shares, compared to its average volume of 51,016. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 31.89 and a beta of 1.08. Karooooo has a 52 week low of $35.51 and a 52 week high of $63.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $49.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.94.

Karooooo (NASDAQ:KARO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $70.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. Karooooo had a net margin of 20.23% and a return on equity of 31.48%. Karooooo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.760-1.920 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Karooooo will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

Karooooo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 220.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Karooooo's payout ratio is presently 290.70%.

Karooooo Company Profile

Karooooo Ltd. provides mobility software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform for connected vehicles in South Africa, rest of Africa, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and the United States. The company offers Fleet Telematics, a fleet management SaaS platform that provides real-time insights; LiveVision, which offers pro-active risk management and fleet visibility; MiFleet advanced fleet administration and business intelligence that provides cost management and administration capability services; and Karooooo Logistics, a software application for management of last mile delivery and general operational logistics.

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