Vestcor Inc Invests $919,000 in Core & Main, Inc. $CNM

Vestcor Inc bought a new stake in shares of Core & Main, Inc. (NYSE:CNM) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 17,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $919,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Core & Main by 10.7% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,835,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,483,000 after buying an additional 369,200 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Core & Main by 0.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,472,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,597,000 after acquiring an additional 18,874 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in shares of Core & Main by 2.8% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,357,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,955,000 after acquiring an additional 92,355 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Core & Main by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 2,850,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,428,000 after acquiring an additional 26,799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Core & Main by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,309,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,320,000 after acquiring an additional 38,896 shares in the last quarter. 94.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CNM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Core & Main from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Core & Main from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays cut their price objective on Core & Main from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Core & Main from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Core & Main from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.00.

Core & Main Price Performance

CNM stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $47.59. The stock had a trading volume of 316,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,995,094. Core & Main, Inc. has a 52-week low of $43.17 and a 52-week high of $67.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.71. The company has a market cap of $9.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.98.

Core & Main (NYSE:CNM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Core & Main had a net margin of 5.60% and a return on equity of 24.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Core & Main, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Core & Main declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Core & Main

Core & Main, Inc (NYSE:CNM) is a leading distributor of water, sewer, storm drainage and fire protection products across North America. The company’s product portfolio includes valves, hydrants, pipe and fittings, meters, couplings and other essential components that support municipal, industrial and environmental infrastructure projects. By combining a comprehensive inventory with logistics and technical support, Core & Main helps customers address complex water system and distribution challenges.

With more than 300 branch locations and over 3,500 employees, Core & Main serves a diverse customer base that includes municipalities, contractors, engineers and utility providers.