CAE Inc. (NYSE:CAE) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

CAE Inc. (NYSE:CAE) (TSE:CAE) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,260,000 shares, a decrease of 16.4% from the February 28th total of 3,900,000 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 515,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.3 days.

CAE Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE CAE traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $24.67. 473,333 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 573,146. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. CAE has a 1-year low of $15.95 and a 1-year high of $27.62. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.42. The company has a market cap of $7.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.74.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.01. CAE had a negative net margin of 4.96% and a positive return on equity of 6.11%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CAE will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on CAE. Bank of America upgraded shares of CAE from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of CAE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised CAE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. National Bank Financial cut CAE from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of CAE in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.00.

Institutional Trading of CAE

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

About CAE

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.