Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL) Short Interest Update

Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,590,000 shares, a growth of 12.6% from the December 31st total of 2,300,000 shares. Approximately 4.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 829,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Jennifer Vecchio sold 494 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.95, for a total transaction of $140,765.30. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 59,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,936,573.15. This trade represents a 0.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Burlington Stores

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BURL. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Burlington Stores by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,074,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $282,582,000 after purchasing an additional 18,160 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Burlington Stores by 1,048.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 730,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,478,000 after buying an additional 666,934 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Burlington Stores by 2.4% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 510,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,394,000 after buying an additional 12,143 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Burlington Stores by 2.0% during the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 403,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,441,000 after purchasing an additional 7,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Burlington Stores by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 396,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,151,000 after purchasing an additional 24,576 shares during the last quarter.

Burlington Stores Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of BURL traded down $10.39 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $273.54. 1,180,457 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 694,765. Burlington Stores has a 1-year low of $174.64 and a 1-year high of $298.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The company has a market capitalization of $17.36 billion, a PE ratio of 37.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.62. The business has a 50 day moving average of $287.86 and a 200 day moving average of $270.73.

Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.01. Burlington Stores had a return on equity of 47.52% and a net margin of 4.49%. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Burlington Stores will post 7.93 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Burlington Stores from $327.00 to $317.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of Burlington Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Burlington Stores from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Burlington Stores in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Burlington Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $280.00 to $360.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $317.87.

Burlington Stores Company Profile

Burlington Stores, Inc operates as a retailer of branded merchandise in the United States. The company provides fashion-focused merchandise, including women's ready-to-wear apparel, menswear, youth apparel, footwear, accessories, toys, gifts, and coats, as well as baby, home, and beauty products.