Short Interest in Vista Outdoor Inc. (NYSE:VSTO) Rises By 25.6%

Vista Outdoor Inc. (NYSE:VSTO) saw a significant increase in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,470,000 shares, an increase of 25.6% from the July 15th total of 1,170,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 640,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Vista Outdoor Price Performance

VSTO traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $39.01. The stock had a trading volume of 435,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 562,353. Vista Outdoor has a 1 year low of $23.33 and a 1 year high of $41.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.80. The business has a fifty day moving average of $37.31 and a 200 day moving average of $34.28. The company has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -355.82 and a beta of 0.86.

Vista Outdoor (NYSE:VSTO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.04. Vista Outdoor had a negative net margin of 0.24% and a positive return on equity of 19.18%. The firm had revenue of $644.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $664.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vista Outdoor will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VSTO. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its stake in shares of Vista Outdoor by 228.0% in the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 34,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,025,000 after buying an additional 24,087 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vista Outdoor by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 11,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Vista Outdoor by 445.4% in the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 107,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,193,000 after acquiring an additional 88,181 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vista Outdoor by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 469,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,875,000 after acquiring an additional 76,353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Vista Outdoor by 10.3% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 91,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,003,000 after purchasing an additional 8,521 shares during the period. 90.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. B. Riley cut shares of Vista Outdoor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Vista Outdoor in a research note on Sunday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Lake Street Capital lifted their price target on Vista Outdoor from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Vista Outdoor from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Vista Outdoor from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.20.

About Vista Outdoor

Vista Outdoor Inc designs, manufactures, and markets outdoor recreation and shooting sports products. in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Sporting Products and Outdoor Products. The Sporting Products segment designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes ammunitions, components, and related equipment and accessories for hunters, recreational shooters, federal and local law enforcement agencies, and military.