Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRN) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRN) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,590,000 shares, a decline of 13.1% from the August 15th total of 1,830,000 shares. Currently, 20.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 192,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.2 days.

Insider Activity at Citi Trends

In related news, major shareholder Fund 1 Investments, Llc purchased 21,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $21.21 per share, with a total value of $445,410.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 2,456,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,102,068.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Fund 1 Investments, Llc purchased 21,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $21.21 per share, with a total value of $445,410.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 2,456,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,102,068.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Heather L. Plutino purchased 3,573 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.99 per share, for a total transaction of $49,986.27. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,210.84. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 406,699 shares of company stock valued at $7,915,608. 3.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Long Focus Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Citi Trends by 24.9% in the 2nd quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 250,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,329,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C acquired a new position in shares of Citi Trends in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $208,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citi Trends in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $584,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Citi Trends by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 608,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,938,000 after purchasing an additional 37,107 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Citi Trends by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 52,247 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,111,000 after purchasing an additional 5,307 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Citi Trends in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Citi Trends from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Citi Trends from $33.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Craig Hallum cut their target price on shares of Citi Trends from $25.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th.

Citi Trends Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:CTRN traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $17.52. 201,342 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 128,946. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.51. Citi Trends has a fifty-two week low of $13.65 and a fifty-two week high of $32.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.58 million, a P/E ratio of -16.22 and a beta of 2.39.

Citi Trends (NASDAQ:CTRN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The company reported ($1.94) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.52) by ($1.42). The firm had revenue of $176.55 million during the quarter. Citi Trends had a negative return on equity of 12.25% and a negative net margin of 2.92%.

Citi Trends Company Profile

Citi Trends, Inc operates as a value retailer of fashion apparel, accessories, and home goods. It offers apparel, such as fashion sportswear and footwear for men and ladies, as well as apparel for kids, including newborns, infants, toddlers, boys, and girls; sleepwear, lingerie, and scrubs for ladies; and kids uniforms and accessories.