Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRT) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $47.60.

Several brokerages have issued reports on CPRT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Copart from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Copart in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $33.00 price target (up previously from $32.00) on shares of Copart in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Copart from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, CJS Securities upgraded shares of Copart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th.

Copart Stock Up 3.2%

NASDAQ:CPRT opened at $41.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $39.93 billion, a PE ratio of 25.15 and a beta of 1.10. Copart has a 12 month low of $37.41 and a 12 month high of $63.85. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $39.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.94.

Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The business services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. Copart had a net margin of 34.24% and a return on equity of 17.78%. Copart’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Copart will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas N. Tryforos sold 100,000 shares of Copart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.07, for a total value of $3,907,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Copart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC bought a new stake in Copart in the 2nd quarter valued at about $219,000. Shell Asset Management Co. raised its position in shares of Copart by 6.7% in the second quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 167,910 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,239,000 after buying an additional 10,559 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Copart by 3.5% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 753,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,153,000 after buying an additional 25,564 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC grew its position in Copart by 71.8% during the second quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 127,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,234,000 after buying an additional 53,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in Copart by 89.0% during the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,548,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $125,044,000 after buying an additional 1,200,035 shares in the last quarter. 85.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Copart

Copart (NASDAQ: CPRT) is a global provider of online vehicle auction and remarketing services, focused primarily on the sale of salvage and clean-title vehicles. The company operates a technology-driven auction platform that connects sellers — including insurance companies, vehicle finance firms, rental car companies, dealerships and fleet owners — with a broad buyer base consisting of vehicle dismantlers, recyclers, rebuilders and retail buyers. Copart’s business model centers on efficient vehicle disposition using digital bidding and logistics services to maximize recovery value for its clients.

Core services include hosting live and timed online auctions, vehicle listing and inspection support, title processing, and transportation and storage solutions.