Short Interest in Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte S.A.B. de C.V. (NASDAQ:OMAB) Expands By 25.4%

Key Points

• Short interest in OMAB rose by 25.4% to 322,478 shares as of April 15, about 0.8% of outstanding shares, yielding a short‑interest ratio of 3.2 days based on average daily volume.
• HSBC upgraded OMAB from Hold to Buy and raised its price target to $134, but the MarketBeat consensus remains a Hold with a $120 target (2 Buy, 4 Hold, 1 Sell).
• OMAB traded near $106 (market cap ~$4.51B) with a P/E of 17.7; the company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, a 32.7% net margin, and analysts forecast about 7.13 EPS for the year.

Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte S.A.B. de C.V. (NASDAQ:OMAB - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 322,478 shares, an increase of 25.4% from the March 31st total of 257,252 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 100,936 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on OMAB shares. HSBC raised Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $112.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte in a report on Friday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $120.00.

Institutional Trading of Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte by 34.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 491 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,130 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 791 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 11,809 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,285,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, O Brien Greene & Co. Inc lifted its holdings in Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc now owns 6,147 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $669,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. 9.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte Trading Down 0.1%

OMAB traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $106.01. The stock had a trading volume of 82,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 92,252. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $114.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.75. Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte has a 52 week low of $86.62 and a 52 week high of $134.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte (NASDAQ:OMAB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The transportation company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter. Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte had a return on equity of 55.19% and a net margin of 32.67%.The company had revenue of $228.23 million during the quarter. On average, equities analysts predict that Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte will post 7.13 EPS for the current year.

About Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte

Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte, SAB. de C.V. (OMAB) is a Mexican airport operator that develops, manages and operates airports under long‐term concessions granted by the Federal Government of Mexico. The company's core business covers all aspects of airport operations, including passenger processing, airfield services, security, ground handling, cargo handling and commercial activities such as retail, food and beverage, and parking.

OMA currently holds concession contracts for 13 airports in central and northern Mexico, serving key markets such as Monterrey, Ciudad Juárez, Culiacán, Hermosillo and Torreón.

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