Empowered Funds LLC Acquires Shares of 109,081 Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:SKX)

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:SKX) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 109,081 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $7,300,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.07% of Skechers U.S.A. at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SKX. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 66.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 410 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 423.3% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 450 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 2,809.1% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 640 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 52.9% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 864 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Skechers U.S.A. during the second quarter worth about $69,000. 79.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SKX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Skechers U.S.A. from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on Skechers U.S.A. from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Skechers U.S.A. from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Skechers U.S.A. from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Skechers U.S.A. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Skechers U.S.A. currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.09.

Skechers U.S.A. Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE SKX opened at $60.70 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $64.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.43. The company has a market capitalization of $9.16 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.23. Skechers U.S.A., Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.33 and a 12-month high of $75.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Skechers U.S.A. (NYSE:SKX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The textile maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. Skechers U.S.A. had a return on equity of 13.71% and a net margin of 7.19%. Skechers U.S.A.’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Skechers U.S.A., Inc. will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Skechers U.S.A. announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the textile maker to buy up to 10.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Skechers U.S.A. Profile

Skechers U.SA, Inc designs, develops, markets, and distributes footwear for men, women, and children worldwide. The company operates through Wholesale and Direct-to-Consumer segments. It offers footwear under Skechers Hands Free Slip-ins, Skechers Arch Fit, and Skechers Air-Cooled Memory Foam brands.