Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ:SCVL) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCVL) shares hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $24.28 and last traded at $24.60, with a volume of 374673 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Shoe Carnival from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 30th.

Shoe Carnival Stock Down 4.8 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $635.78 million, a PE ratio of 8.60 and a beta of 1.50. The business’s 50-day moving average is $30.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.87.

Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ:SCVL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $306.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.97 million. Shoe Carnival had a net margin of 6.12% and a return on equity of 12.52%. Shoe Carnival’s quarterly revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Shoe Carnival, Inc. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Shoe Carnival Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 13th were paid a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 13th. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. Shoe Carnival’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.85%.

Shoe Carnival declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 12th that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 5.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Shoe Carnival

In related news, Chairman Wayne J. Weaver acquired 285,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $33.91 per share, with a total value of $9,681,305.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 4,173,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141,524,368.39. This represents a 7.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 34.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Shoe Carnival

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCVL. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Shoe Carnival during the third quarter worth about $37,440,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Shoe Carnival by 241.2% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 203,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,742,000 after purchasing an additional 144,066 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Shoe Carnival by 215.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 194,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,438,000 after purchasing an additional 132,844 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Shoe Carnival by 219.0% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 148,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,925,000 after purchasing an additional 102,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Shoe Carnival by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 581,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,236,000 after purchasing an additional 96,753 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.05% of the company’s stock.

About Shoe Carnival

Shoe Carnival, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a family footwear retailer in the United States. The company offers range of dress, casual, work, and athletic shoes, as well as sandals and boots for men, women, and children; and various accessories. The company also operates stores, and sells its products through online shopping at shoecarnival.com, as well as through mobile app.