Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:SKX) Short Interest Update

Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:SKX) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,240,000 shares, a decrease of 22.1% from the December 15th total of 5,440,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,000,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 3.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Skechers U.S.A. Price Performance

Shares of Skechers U.S.A. stock traded down $1.66 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $69.64. The stock had a trading volume of 1,507,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,574,784. The business has a fifty day moving average of $66.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.58. The firm has a market cap of $10.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.19. Skechers U.S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $55.67 and a fifty-two week 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The textile maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Skechers U.S.A. had a net margin of 7.19% and a return on equity of 13.71%. Skechers U.S.A.’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Skechers U.S.A. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Michael Greenberg sold 10,274 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.48, for a total transaction of $693,289.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 149,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,076,585.96. This represents a 6.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO David Weinberg sold 8,219 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.48, for a total value of $554,618.12. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 122,211 shares in the company, valued at $8,246,798.28. The trade was a 6.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 24.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lindenwold Advisors INC grew its holdings in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 6,663 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its position in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 8,762 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,678 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Skechers U.S.A. by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,157 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $747,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Skechers U.S.A. by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,545 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SKX shares. Bank of America dropped their target price on Skechers U.S.A. from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Skechers U.S.A. in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Skechers U.S.A. from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Skechers U.S.A. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.42.

Skechers U.S.A. Company 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.