Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL) Short Interest Up 7.7% in September

Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,090,000 shares, a growth of 7.7% from the August 31st total of 1,940,000 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 761,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BURL. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Burlington Stores from $284.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Burlington Stores from $212.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Burlington Stores from $278.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Burlington Stores from $275.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Burlington Stores from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $294.94.

Burlington Stores Stock Performance

NYSE:BURL traded down $5.45 on Tuesday, hitting $258.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 347,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 898,798. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Burlington Stores has a one year low of $115.66 and a one year high of $282.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $263.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $232.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.64.

Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.42 billion. Burlington Stores had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 47.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Burlington Stores will post 7.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Paul Sullivan sold 1,705 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.05, for a total value of $472,370.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,048,230.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CMO Jennifer Vecchio sold 494 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.37, for a total value of $126,152.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 61,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,809,190.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul Sullivan sold 1,705 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.05, for a total transaction of $472,370.25. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,048,230.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Burlington Stores

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Burlington Stores in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Burlington Stores during the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Burlington Stores in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Burlington Stores by 619.2% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, American National Bank acquired a new stake in Burlington Stores during the second quarter worth approximately $47,000.

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.