Short Interest in The Cato Co. (NYSE:CATO) Declines By 19.1%

The Cato Co. (NYSE:CATO) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,100,000 shares, a decrease of 19.1% from the May 31st total of 1,360,000 shares. Currently, 6.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 131,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.4 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cato

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Cato by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 931,094 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,372,000 after buying an additional 7,072 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its position in Cato by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 114,939 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $880,000 after acquiring an additional 19,026 shares during the period. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cato by 86.1% in the first quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 76,345 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 35,313 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP raised its stake in shares of Cato by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 62,732 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 6,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Cato during the third quarter worth $310,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.10% of the company’s stock.

Cato Price Performance

NYSE CATO traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $5.24. 32,793 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 132,963. The company has a 50 day moving average of $5.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.11. Cato has a 52-week low of $4.56 and a 52-week high of $8.78.

Cato (NYSE:CATO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter. Cato had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a negative return on equity of 8.36%. The firm had revenue of $177.10 million for the quarter.

Cato Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.98%. Cato’s dividend payout ratio is currently -80.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CATO has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cato from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. TheStreet lowered shares of Cato from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th.

Cato Company Profile

The Cato Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty retailer of fashion apparel and accessories primarily in the southeastern United States. It operates through two segments, Retail and Credit. The company's stores and e-commerce websites offer a range of apparel and accessories, including dressy, career, and casual sportswear; and dresses, coats, shoes, lingerie, costume jewelry, and handbags, as well as men's wear, and lines for kids and infants.