Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,120,000 shares, a drop of 11.3% from the July 15th total of 2,390,000 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 939,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Burlington Stores Stock Performance

Shares of Burlington Stores stock traded down $0.71 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $264.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 741,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 908,907. Burlington Stores has a one year low of $115.66 and a one year high of $267.58. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $217.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $16.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.61.

Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Burlington Stores had a return on equity of 46.39% and a net margin of 3.87%. Burlington Stores’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Burlington Stores will post 7.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Burlington Stores news, CMO Jennifer Vecchio sold 494 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.37, for a total transaction of $126,152.78. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 61,907 shares in the company, valued at $15,809,190.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Burlington Stores during the second quarter worth about $25,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Burlington Stores in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Burlington Stores in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Burlington Stores by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Burlington Stores by 619.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 187 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on BURL. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Burlington Stores from $227.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Burlington Stores from $252.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Bank of America raised their target price on Burlington Stores from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com lowered Burlington Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Burlington Stores in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $250.27.

About Burlington Stores

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.