Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHOE) Short Interest Update

Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHOE) was the target of a large increase in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 6,288,942 shares, an increase of 48.5% from the July 15th total of 4,235,024 shares. Currently, 34.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 822,176 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.6 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shoe Carnival

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Shoe Carnival during the second quarter worth about $29,007,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Shoe Carnival by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,651,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,744,000 after buying an additional 44,759 shares during the last quarter. New South Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Shoe Carnival by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. New South Capital Management Inc. now owns 744,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,567,000 after purchasing an additional 69,474 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in Shoe Carnival by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 577,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,743,000 after buying an additional 160,747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Shoe Carnival by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 454,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,670,000 after acquiring an additional 10,102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.05% of the company’s stock.

Shoe Carnival Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SHOE traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $15.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 80,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 497,984. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.37. Shoe Carnival has a fifty-two week low of $14.00 and a fifty-two week high of $26.57. The company has a market cap of $427.04 million, a PE ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 1.43.

Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ:SHOE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Shoe Carnival had a return on equity of 7.24% and a net margin of 3.31%.The business had revenue of $270.73 million for the quarter. On average, research analysts predict that Shoe Carnival will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Shoe Carnival Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 6th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 6th. Shoe Carnival’s payout ratio is currently 50.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on SHOE shares. Zacks Research downgraded Shoe Carnival from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings initiated coverage on shares of Shoe Carnival in a research note on Monday, June 15th. They issued a “hold (c-)” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Shoe Carnival Company Profile

Shoe Carnival, Inc (NASDAQ: SCVL) is a U.S.-based specialty retailer offering a broad assortment of footwear, apparel and accessories for the entire family. Through its network of brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce platform, the company provides casual, athletic and dress shoes for men, women and children, as well as complementary apparel, handbags, socks and other accessories designed to deliver value and variety. Its distinctive in-store carnival host service model aims to create an engaging shopping experience and foster customer loyalty.

Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, Shoe Carnival has expanded over four decades to operate more than 350 retail locations across over 30 states.