CDW Co. (NASDAQ:CDW) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

CDW Co. (NASDAQ:CDW) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,950,000 shares, a growth of 32.6% from the April 30th total of 2,980,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,500,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 3.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CDW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of CDW from $223.00 to $205.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of CDW from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of CDW from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on CDW from $193.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on CDW from $222.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.38.

Insider Activity at CDW

In other CDW news, insider Christine A. Leahy sold 40,917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.42, for a total transaction of $7,423,162.14. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 144,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,293,382.02. This trade represents a 22.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Frederick J. Kulevich sold 28,159 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.90, for a total value of $5,375,553.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,887,099.30. The trade was a 43.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CDW

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in CDW by 78.9% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 170 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in CDW in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in CDW by 39.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 183 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in CDW during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of CDW in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.15% of the company’s stock.

CDW Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of CDW opened at $179.35 on Wednesday. CDW has a twelve month low of $137.31 and a twelve month high of $241.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.50, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $166.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.80.

CDW (NASDAQ:CDW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The information technology services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.93 billion. CDW had a return on equity of 55.42% and a net margin of 5.13%. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that CDW will post 9.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CDW Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. CDW’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.98%.

CDW declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 5th that allows the company to buyback $750.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 2.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About CDW

CDW Corporation provides information technology (IT) solutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. It operates through three segments: Corporate, Small Business, and Public. The company offers discrete hardware and software products and services, as well as integrated IT solutions, including on-premise and cloud capabilities across hybrid infrastructure, digital experience, and security.