Short Interest in Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHC) Grows By 11.3%

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHC) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,730,000 shares, an increase of 11.3% from the March 15th total of 3,350,000 shares. Currently, 4.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 565,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.6 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Wade D. Miquelon sold 2,203 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total transaction of $188,114.17. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 46,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,934,258.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acadia Healthcare

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Acadia Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Acadia Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Acadia Healthcare in the first quarter worth $38,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in Acadia Healthcare in the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Acadia Healthcare by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 670 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period.

Acadia Healthcare Stock Down 2.9 %

ACHC stock opened at $70.98 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $79.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Acadia Healthcare has a 12-month low of $66.49 and a 12-month high of $87.77. The company has a market cap of $6.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -283.91, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.31.

Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.05. Acadia Healthcare had a positive return on equity of 11.21% and a negative net margin of 0.74%. The firm had revenue of $742.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $727.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Acadia Healthcare will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. TheStreet upgraded Acadia Healthcare from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Acadia Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Stephens upgraded shares of Acadia Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $92.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Acadia Healthcare from $77.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Acadia Healthcare from $88.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Acadia Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.22.

About Acadia Healthcare

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc provides behavioral healthcare services in the United States and Puerto Rico. The company develops and operates acute inpatient psychiatric facilities, specialty treatment facilities comprising residential recovery facilities and eating disorder facilities, comprehensive treatment centers, and residential treatment centers, as well as facilities offering outpatient behavioral healthcare services for the behavioral healthcare and recovery needs of communities.