CBIZ, Inc. (NYSE:CBZ) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

CBIZ, Inc. (NYSE:CBZ) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 788,000 shares, an increase of 9.7% from the February 29th total of 718,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 307,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Sidoti cut shares of CBIZ from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CBIZ

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CBZ. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in CBIZ by 853.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,871,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $181,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,465,585 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in CBIZ by 5.6% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,440,914 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $183,332,000 after purchasing an additional 184,006 shares in the last quarter. Eaton Vance Management increased its stake in CBIZ by 14.3% in the first quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 2,923,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $122,716,000 after purchasing an additional 364,887 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of CBIZ by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,718,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $170,139,000 after acquiring an additional 51,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in CBIZ by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,151,499 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $134,662,000 after purchasing an additional 112,117 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

CBIZ Price Performance

NYSE:CBZ traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $76.51. The stock had a trading volume of 38,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 312,522. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of 32.14 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20. CBIZ has a 12 month low of $48.10 and a 12 month high of $79.55.

CBIZ (NYSE:CBZ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The business services provider reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by $0.01. CBIZ had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The firm had revenue of $327.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.87 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.21) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CBIZ will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

About CBIZ

CBIZ, Inc provides financial, insurance, and advisory services in the United States and Canada. It operates through Financial Services, Benefits and Insurance Services, and National Practices segments. The Financial Services segment offers accounting and tax, financial advisory, valuation, risk and advisory, and government healthcare consulting services.