Steven Madden, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SHOO) Short Interest Up 28.1% in March

Steven Madden, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SHOO) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 4,720,037 shares, a growth of 28.1% from the February 26th total of 3,685,468 shares. Currently, 6.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,356,573 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Steven Madden Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of NASDAQ SHOO traded up $1.29 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $33.88. 748,222 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,516,746. Steven Madden has a 1 year low of $19.05 and a 1 year high of $46.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.57 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business has a 50 day moving average of $37.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.25.

Steven Madden (NASDAQ:SHOO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The textile maker reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $753.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $758.53 million. Steven Madden had a return on equity of 13.60% and a net margin of 1.76%.Steven Madden’s revenue was up 29.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Steven Madden will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Steven Madden Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. Steven Madden’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 135.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Steven Madden in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Steven Madden from $50.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Steven Madden in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Steven Madden from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $48.00 target price on Steven Madden in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.00.

Insider Transactions at Steven Madden

In related news, Director Arian Simone Reed sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.44, for a total value of $120,384.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,705 shares in the company, valued at $291,095.20. This trade represents a 29.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Steven Madden

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in shares of Steven Madden by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 2,324 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Steven Madden by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 16,640 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $693,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp boosted its position in Steven Madden by 55.1% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 892 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its stake in Steven Madden by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 13,738 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Steven Madden by 0.7% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 53,404 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,281,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.88% of the company’s stock.

Steven Madden Company Profile

Steven Madden, Inc (NASDAQ: SHOO) is a New York–based designer and marketer of fashion footwear, handbags and accessories. The company’s product portfolio spans a range of contemporary and lifestyle brands for women, men and children, including its core Steve Madden label as well as the Madden Girl and Dolce Vita brands. In addition to footwear, the company licenses its trademarks for use on apparel, eyewear and other fashion accessories.

Steven Madden distributes its products through multiple channels, including wholesale partners, e-commerce platforms and its own brick-and-mortar retail stores.