Addus HomeCare Co. (NASDAQ:ADUS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Addus HomeCare Co. (NASDAQ:ADUS) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 452,000 shares, an increase of 6.4% from the November 30th total of 425,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 135,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ADUS. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Addus HomeCare from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $136.00 price objective on shares of Addus HomeCare in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com raised Addus HomeCare from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JMP Securities initiated coverage on Addus HomeCare in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on Addus HomeCare from $143.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.67.

Addus HomeCare Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of Addus HomeCare stock opened at $126.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.01. Addus HomeCare has a 12-month low of $85.94 and a 12-month high of $136.12. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.57.

Addus HomeCare (NASDAQ:ADUS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.02. Addus HomeCare had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 6.50%. The company had revenue of $289.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Addus HomeCare will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Addus HomeCare

In other news, CEO R Dirk Allison sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.16, for a total value of $1,539,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 141,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,476,034.52. The trade was a 8.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roberton James Stevenson sold 2,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $272,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,217 shares in the company, valued at $1,236,257. The trade was a 18.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Addus HomeCare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,622,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Addus HomeCare by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 714,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,930,000 after acquiring an additional 5,421 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Addus HomeCare by 73.4% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 745,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,598,000 after purchasing an additional 315,602 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Addus HomeCare by 136.5% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 80,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,294,000 after purchasing an additional 46,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Addus HomeCare by 90.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 18,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,136,000 after purchasing an additional 8,743 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.35% of the company’s stock.

About Addus HomeCare

Addus HomeCare Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides personal care services to elderly, chronically ill, disabled persons, and individuals who are at risk of hospitalization or institutionalization in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Personal Care, Hospice, and Home Health.