CBIZ, Inc. (NYSE:CBZ) Short Interest Up 13.3% in October

CBIZ, Inc. (NYSE:CBZ) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,060,000 shares, a growth of 13.3% from the October 15th total of 935,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 312,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

CBIZ Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CBZ traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $76.79. 31,016 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 316,243. CBIZ has a twelve month low of $57.01 and a twelve month high of $86.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.51 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

CBIZ (NYSE:CBZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $438.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $440.16 million. CBIZ had a return on equity of 15.12% and a net margin of 7.08%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that CBIZ will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CBZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CBIZ from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Sidoti upgraded CBIZ from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $86.00 in a report on Monday, August 12th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CBIZ

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CBIZ by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,109,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $74,644,000 after purchasing an additional 11,615 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in CBIZ by 362.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 78,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,298,000 after acquiring an additional 61,679 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in shares of CBIZ by 12.0% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 120,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,085,000 after acquiring an additional 12,867 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of CBIZ in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $511,000. Finally, Kensington Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in CBIZ by 3.4% during the third quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 20,079 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.