Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCRN) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCRN) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,430,000 shares, an increase of 6.7% from the May 15th total of 4,150,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 356,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 12.4 days. Currently, 13.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Cross Country Healthcare Stock Performance

CCRN traded down $0.44 on Tuesday, hitting $14.16. 295,137 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 430,635. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.70. Cross Country Healthcare has a 12 month low of $14.05 and a 12 month high of $28.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $492.34 million, a PE ratio of 11.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.75.

Cross Country Healthcare (NASDAQ:CCRN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.02. Cross Country Healthcare had a return on equity of 11.69% and a net margin of 2.58%. The business had revenue of $379.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $374.38 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. Cross Country Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was down 39.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Cross Country Healthcare will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CCRN. TheStreet cut Cross Country Healthcare from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Barrington Research lowered their price target on Cross Country Healthcare from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Cross Country Healthcare from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price objective on Cross Country Healthcare from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Marc S. Krug sold 13,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.82, for a total transaction of $202,396.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,020 shares in the company, valued at $533,816.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Cross Country Healthcare news, insider Phillip Lyn Noe sold 9,646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.19, for a total value of $136,876.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $144,198.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Marc S. Krug sold 13,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.82, for a total value of $202,396.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $533,816.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cross Country Healthcare

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Cross Country Healthcare by 50.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,489,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,364,000 after acquiring an additional 834,941 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Cross Country Healthcare by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,256,832 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $51,095,000 after buying an additional 76,954 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Cross Country Healthcare by 74.3% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,193,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $49,663,000 after buying an additional 934,841 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Cross Country Healthcare by 0.3% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 717,762 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,793,000 after buying an additional 2,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Cross Country Healthcare by 1.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 558,302 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,840,000 after purchasing an additional 10,137 shares during the period. 96.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cross Country Healthcare Company Profile

Cross Country Healthcare, Inc provides talent management and other consultative services for healthcare clients in the United States. The company's Nurse and Allied Staffing segment provides traditional staffing, recruiting, and value-added total talent solutions, including temporary and permanent placement of travel and local nurse and, allied professionals; temporary placement of healthcare leaders within nursing, allied, physician, and human resources; vendor neutral and managed services programs; education healthcare services; in-home care services; and outsourcing services.