Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Five Below, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVE) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $75.59, but opened at $80.10. Five Below shares last traded at $80.30, with a volume of 1,501,686 shares.

The specialty retailer reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.10. Five Below had a return on equity of 18.03% and a net margin of 7.02%. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FIVE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Five Below from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Five Below from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price objective on Five Below from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Five Below from $93.00 to $86.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Five Below from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Five Below presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Eric M. Specter sold 5,494 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.76, for a total value of $498,635.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 57,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,197,552.92. This trade represents a 8.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Five Below

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Five Below in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Five Below during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Five Below by 156.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 334 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Five Below during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Five Below by 143.8% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 429 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter.

Five Below Trading Up 0.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.72, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $87.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.52.

Five Below Company Profile

Five Below, Inc operates as a specialty value retailer in the United States. The company offers range of accessories, which includes novelty socks, sunglasses, jewelry, scarves, gloves, hair accessories, athletic tops and bottoms, and t-shirts, as well as nail polish, lip gloss, fragrance, and branded cosmetics; and personalized living space products, such as lamps, posters, frames, fleece blankets, plush items, pillows, candles, incense, lighting, novelty décor, accent furniture, and related items, as well as provides storage options.