Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRN) Short Interest Update

Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRN) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,830,000 shares, an increase of 6.4% from the July 31st total of 1,720,000 shares. Currently, 23.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 169,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CTRN shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Citi Trends in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Citi Trends from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Craig Hallum decreased their price objective on Citi Trends from $25.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their target price on Citi Trends from $33.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Citi Trends news, CEO Kenneth Duane Seipel bought 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.39 per share, for a total transaction of $359,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 282,139 shares in the company, valued at $4,059,980.21. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Kenneth Duane Seipel purchased 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $14.39 per share, with a total value of $359,750.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 282,139 shares in the company, valued at $4,059,980.21. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Fund 1 Investments, Llc acquired 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,446,550.22. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 510,961 shares of company stock valued at $10,273,948 over the last ninety days. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Citi Trends

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Citi Trends by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 197,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,594,000 after buying an additional 4,779 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Citi Trends in the 4th quarter valued at about $223,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Citi Trends by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 50,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 9,074 shares during the last quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Citi Trends by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC now owns 1,329,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,594,000 after purchasing an additional 474,736 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Citi Trends by 89.5% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 118,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,222,000 after purchasing an additional 56,087 shares during the last quarter.

Citi Trends Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of CTRN traded down $0.17 on Monday, hitting $14.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 218,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 125,376. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $17.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.63. Citi Trends has a fifty-two week low of $13.98 and a fifty-two week high of $32.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.24 and a beta of 2.39.

Citi Trends (NASDAQ:CTRN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The company reported ($1.94) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.52) by ($1.42). Citi Trends had a negative return on equity of 12.25% and a negative net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $176.55 million during the 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.