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

Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRN) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 585,062 shares, an increase of 22.1% from the February 26th total of 479,073 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 65,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.9 days. Currently, 7.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citi Trends

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Citi Trends by 143.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Citi Trends by 175.0% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Citi Trends in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Citi Trends by 277.1% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 1,211 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Citi Trends by 758.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 2,366 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Citi Trends in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Citi Trends in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. DA Davidson set a $68.00 price objective on Citi Trends in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Citi Trends from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.00.

Citi Trends Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:CTRN traded up $1.45 on Tuesday, hitting $43.47. 72,722 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 96,592. The firm has a market capitalization of $362.97 million, a P/E ratio of 73.68 and a beta of 2.06. Citi Trends has a 1-year low of $16.82 and a 1-year high of $56.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $45.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.57.

Citi Trends (NASDAQ:CTRN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 17th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.07. Citi Trends had a negative return on equity of 4.85% and a net margin of 0.64%.The firm had revenue of $230.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $227.42 million.

About Citi Trends

Citi Trends, Inc (NASDAQ: CTRN) is an off-price retail apparel chain that focuses on value-priced urban fashion apparel and accessories for men, women, and children. Headquartered in Savannah, Georgia, the company offers a broad assortment of merchandise, including denim, sportswear, activewear, and seasonal styles, complemented by footwear, jewelry, cosmetics, and home goods. Through its purchasing model, Citi Trends sources closeouts, overstocks and canceled orders from name-brand vendors, enabling it to offer trending styles at competitive price points.

The company operates more than 500 stores across the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, with typical store footprints of approximately 11,000 square feet.