Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRN) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRN) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,400,000 shares, an increase of 7.7% from the June 15th total of 1,300,000 shares. Currently, 17.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 141,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTRN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Citi Trends in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Craig Hallum reduced their price objective on shares of Citi Trends from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th.

Citi Trends Stock Down 0.9 %

CTRN stock traded down $0.18 on Wednesday, reaching $20.55. 110,637 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 114,676. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $21.88 and a 200-day moving average of $25.28. The firm has a market cap of $176.63 million, a PE ratio of -19.03 and a beta of 2.39. Citi Trends has a twelve month low of $18.14 and a twelve month high of $32.90.

Citi Trends (NASDAQ:CTRN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 4th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $186.29 million for the quarter. Citi Trends had a negative return on equity of 4.99% and a negative net margin of 1.16%.

Insider Activity at Citi Trends

In other Citi Trends news, CEO Kenneth Duane Seipel acquired 86,998 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.96 per share, with a total value of $1,649,482.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 123,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,349,447.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Fund 1 Investments, Llc bought 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.27 per share, with a total value of $77,080.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 2,565,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,446,550.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kenneth Duane Seipel purchased 86,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.96 per share, with a total value of $1,649,482.08. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 123,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,349,447.36. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 664,744 shares of company stock worth $13,915,910 in the last 90 days. 3.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTRN. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citi Trends in the 1st quarter worth approximately $139,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Citi Trends during the fourth quarter worth $223,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Citi Trends by 8.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 21,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,575 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Citi Trends by 60,229.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 33,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $737,000 after buying an additional 33,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Citi Trends by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 46,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,319,000 after buying an additional 14,421 shares during the last quarter.

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.