Short Interest in Cannae Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CNNE) Grows By 40.6%

Cannae Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CNNE - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,390,000 shares, an increase of 40.6% from the May 15th total of 1,700,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 737,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days. Approximately 4.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Cannae Price Performance

Shares of CNNE traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $19.90. 728,064 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 485,429. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 2.55. The company has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of -4.14 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.82. Cannae has a one year low of $15.92 and a one year high of $22.36.

Cannae (NYSE:CNNE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.59) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.56) by ($0.03). Cannae had a negative net margin of 68.61% and a negative return on equity of 8.26%. The company had revenue of $103.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $105.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($1.27) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cannae will post -3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Cannae announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 25th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Cannae Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Cannae's dividend payout ratio is currently -9.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cannae

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newtyn Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cannae by 143.4% during the first quarter. Newtyn Management LLC now owns 4,600,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,318,000 after buying an additional 2,710,000 shares in the last quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP boosted its position in Cannae by 66.2% during the 1st quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP now owns 2,874,116 shares of the company's stock worth $52,683,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145,190 shares during the period. Saba Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in Cannae by 92.3% during the 4th quarter. Saba Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,219,230 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,074,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065,083 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cannae in the 1st quarter valued at about $14,816,000. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cannae by 91.1% in the first quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,601,334 shares of the company's stock worth $29,352,000 after purchasing an additional 763,324 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on CNNE shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Cannae in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Cannae from $27.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th.

About Cannae

Cannae Holdings, Inc is a principal investment firm. The firm primarily invests in restaurants, technology enabled healthcare services, financial services and more. It takes both minority and majority stakes. Cannae Holdings, Inc was founded in 2014 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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