Morgan Stanley Initiates Coverage on CarMax (NYSE:KMX)

Equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of CarMax (NYSE:KMX) in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 11.79% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of CarMax in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded CarMax from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Cfra Research raised CarMax to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on CarMax from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on CarMax from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.64.

CarMax Stock Up 1.8%

KMX stock opened at $71.56 on Tuesday. CarMax has a fifty-two week low of $61.34 and a fifty-two week high of $91.25. The company has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $66.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 2.39.

CarMax (NYSE:KMX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $7.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.58 billion. CarMax had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 2.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that CarMax will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mitchell D. Steenrod acquired 1,300 shares of CarMax stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $65.49 per share, for a total transaction of $85,137.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 33,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,198,957.73. This trade represents a 4.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CarMax

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of CarMax by 348.0% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 6,595,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $539,213,000 after purchasing an additional 5,122,850 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in CarMax in the 4th quarter valued at $423,187,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in CarMax by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,671,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,978,000 after buying an additional 29,715 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in CarMax by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,710,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,564,000 after buying an additional 47,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CarMax by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,093,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,056,000 after acquiring an additional 206,106 shares during the period.

About CarMax

CarMax, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer of used vehicles and related products in the United States. It operates in two segments: CarMax Sales Operations and CarMax Auto Finance. The CarMax Sales Operations segment offers customers a range of makes and models of used vehicles, including domestic, imported, and luxury vehicles, as well as hybrid and electric vehicles; used vehicle auctions; extended protection plans to customers at the time of sale; and reconditioning and vehicle repair services.