Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Raises Position in Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY) by 258.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,434 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 85,396 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.11% of Etsy worth $6,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Etsy by 106.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 448 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Etsy by 112.3% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 552 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Etsy during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Etsy in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Etsy by 25.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,241 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. 99.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Etsy in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Etsy from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush lowered their price objective on Etsy from $65.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Etsy in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Etsy from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.87.

Etsy Price Performance

Etsy stock opened at $52.30 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.75. Etsy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $47.10 and a 12 month high of $89.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 1.99.

Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.09). Etsy had a negative return on equity of 46.79% and a net margin of 9.17%. The firm had revenue of $662.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $652.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Etsy, Inc. will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

Etsy announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to buy up to 17.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Etsy

In other Etsy news, insider Nicholas Daniel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.40, for a total value of $41,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,798.20. This represents a 3.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Merilee Buckley sold 1,676 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.11, for a total transaction of $85,660.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,819 shares of company stock worth $303,438 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

About Etsy

Etsy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates two-sided online marketplaces that connect buyers and sellers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Australia, and France. Its primary marketplace is Etsy.com that connects artisans and entrepreneurs with various consumers. The company also offers Reverb, a musical instrument marketplace; Depop, a fashion resale marketplace; and Elo7, a Brazil-based marketplace for handmade and unique items.