RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RMAX) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 49.6% in March to 763,262 shares (about 4.1% of shares sold short), leaving a days-to-cover ratio of 2.8.
• Analyst sentiment is negative — the consensus rating is "Reduce" with an average target of $9.00, and Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)."
• Shares trade around $5.79 (near the 12‑month low of $5.65) with a market cap of about $116.5M; the company slightly beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.30 vs. $0.28) despite thin margins and a negative return on equity.

RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RMAX - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 763,262 shares, a growth of 49.6% from the February 26th total of 510,357 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 272,456 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 4.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of RE/MAX in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $9.00.

RE/MAX Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RMAX traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $5.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 386,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 247,730. The company has a market cap of $116.51 million, a P/E ratio of 14.83 and a beta of 1.26. RE/MAX has a 12-month low of $5.65 and a 12-month high of $10.32. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $6.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.80.

RE/MAX (NYSE:RMAX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.02. RE/MAX had a net margin of 2.80% and a negative return on equity of 73.77%. The company had revenue of $71.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $71.33 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that RE/MAX will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RE/MAX

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of RE/MAX by 20.0% in the third quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 590,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,567,000 after purchasing an additional 98,241 shares during the period. Cambiar Investors LLC acquired a new stake in RE/MAX during the fourth quarter worth about $98,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in RE/MAX by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,698 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in RE/MAX by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,212 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 3,615 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in RE/MAX by 95.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 533,201 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,028,000 after purchasing an additional 260,416 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.17% of the company's stock.

RE/MAX Company Profile

RE/MAX Holdings, Inc NYSE: RMAX is a global franchisor of real estate brokerage services, offering residential and commercial property transaction support through a network of independently owned and operated offices. The company provides marketing, training, technology platforms and brand recognition for its affiliated agents, facilitating property buying, selling and leasing activities. In addition to core brokerage services, RE/MAX offers ancillary solutions such as mortgage referral, title and escrow coordination, relocation assistance and luxury market specialization.

Established in 1973 by David and Gail Liniger in Denver, Colorado, RE/MAX pioneered a high-commission, agent-driven model designed to attract experienced real estate professionals.

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