Short Interest in Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRN) Decreases By 19.0%

Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRN) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 567,800 shares, a decline of 19.0% from the February 13th total of 701,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 89,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.4 days. Approximately 7.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTRN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Craig Hallum upgraded shares of Citi Trends from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Citi Trends from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Citi Trends in a research report on Wednesday.

Citi Trends Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTRN traded down $0.82 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $21.34. 55,732 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 123,754. Citi Trends has a 12-month low of $13.66 and a 12-month high of $29.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $25.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.07. The firm has a market cap of $185.87 million, a P/E ratio of -6.95 and a beta of 2.29.

Citi Trends (NASDAQ:CTRN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 18th. The company reported ($1.55) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($1.73). Citi Trends had a negative net margin of 3.36% and a negative return on equity of 14.43%. The company had revenue of $211.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $211.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Citi Trends news, Director Jonathan Duskin sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.44, for a total value of $317,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 33,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $882,990.24. The trade was a 26.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Citi Trends

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Citi Trends during the third quarter worth about $40,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Citi Trends during the fourth quarter worth about $85,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in Citi Trends by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Citi Trends during the fourth quarter worth about $105,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in Citi Trends by 111.3% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 8,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 4,250 shares in the last quarter.

About Citi Trends

Citi Trends, Inc operates as a value retailer of fashion apparel, accessories, and home goods. The company 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.