Short Interest in CAE Inc. (NYSE:CAE) Declines By 18.6%

CAE Inc. (NYSE:CAE) (TSE:CAE) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,900,000 shares, a decrease of 18.6% from the February 13th total of 4,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 506,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.7 days. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

CAE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAE traded up $0.23 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.54. The stock had a trading volume of 340,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 556,237. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. CAE has a 12-month low of $15.95 and a 12-month high of $27.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.74. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.94.

CAE (NYSE:CAE) (TSE:CAE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The aerospace company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. CAE had a negative net margin of 4.96% and a positive return on equity of 6.11%. On average, equities research analysts expect that CAE will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CAE

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAE. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CAE by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 374,393 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $9,502,000 after buying an additional 95,905 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of CAE by 212.1% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 176,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,467,000 after buying an additional 119,600 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in shares of CAE by 255.7% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 525,150 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $13,328,000 after purchasing an additional 377,499 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its holdings in CAE by 427.1% in the 4th quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 6,741,514 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $171,093,000 after buying an additional 5,462,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shell Asset Management Co. raised its stake in CAE by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 51,220 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,299,000 after purchasing an additional 4,900 shares during the last quarter. 67.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on CAE. TD Securities downgraded CAE from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America upgraded CAE from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of CAE in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Cibc World Mkts cut CAE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of CAE from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CAE has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.00.

CAE Company Profile

CAE Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides simulation training and critical operations support solutions in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia, the Oceania, Africa, and Rest of the Americas. It operates through two segments, Civil Aviation; and Defense and Security. The Civil Aviation segment offers training solutions for flight, cabin, maintenance, and ground personnel in commercial, business, and helicopter aviation; a range of flight simulation training devices; and ab initio pilot training and crew sourcing services, as well as aircraft flight operations solutions.