Fernbridge Capital Management LP Invests $40.45 Million in Core & Main, Inc. (NYSE:CNM)

Fernbridge Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Core & Main, Inc. (NYSE:CNM) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 826,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,447,000. Core & Main comprises 2.7% of Fernbridge Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Fernbridge Capital Management LP owned 0.41% of Core & Main at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Core & Main by 35.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,138,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,038,457,000 after purchasing an additional 4,721,510 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Core & Main by 470.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,093,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,590,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200,591 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Core & Main by 915.9% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,586,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,073,000 after purchasing an additional 2,331,802 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Core & Main during the first quarter worth $98,876,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Core & Main in the fourth quarter valued at about $69,282,000. 94.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James G. Castellano sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total value of $652,750.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $614,577.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.49% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Core & Main from $62.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Core & Main from $60.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Core & Main from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Core & Main from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Core & Main from $57.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.30.

Core & Main Price Performance

NYSE CNM opened at $43.41 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $48.03 and its 200-day moving average is $52.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $8.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.04. Core & Main, Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.75 and a 12-month high of $62.15.

Core & Main (NYSE:CNM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.13). Core & Main had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 5.58%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Core & Main, Inc. will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Core & Main announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 12th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Core & Main Profile

Core & Main, Inc distributes water, wastewater, storm drainage, and fire protection products and related services to municipalities, private water companies, and professional contractors in the municipal, non-residential, and residential end markets in the United States. Its products portfolio include pipes, valves, hydrants, fittings, and other products and services; storm drainage products, such as corrugated piping systems, retention basins, inline drains, manholes, grates, geosynthetics, erosion control, and other related products; fire protection products, including fire protection pipes, and sprinkler heads and devices, as well as fabrication services; and meter products, such as smart meter products, meter sets, meter accessories, installation, software, and other services.