Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRN) was the target of a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,720,000 shares, an increase of 8.2% from the August 31st total of 1,590,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 207,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.3 days. Approximately 21.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CTRN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Craig Hallum reduced their target price on Citi Trends from $25.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com lowered Citi Trends from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Citi Trends from $33.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Citi Trends in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th.

Insider Transactions at Citi Trends

In related news, CEO Kenneth Duane Seipel acquired 135,128 shares of Citi Trends stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.06 per share, with a total value of $2,575,539.68. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 319,562 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,090,851.72. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Citi Trends news, CEO Kenneth Duane Seipel bought 135,128 shares of Citi Trends stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.06 per share, for a total transaction of $2,575,539.68. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 319,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,090,851.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Fund 1 Investments, Llc bought 3,000 shares of Citi Trends stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.34 per share, with a total value of $58,020.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 2,568,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,684,189.24. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 263,699 shares of company stock valued at $4,875,638 in the last three months. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Citi Trends

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Citi Trends by 8.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 21,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 1,575 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Citi Trends by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 197,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,594,000 after buying an additional 4,779 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Citi Trends in the first quarter worth about $139,000. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Citi Trends by 11.3% in the second quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 52,247 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,111,000 after buying an additional 5,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Citi Trends by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 50,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,420,000 after buying an additional 9,074 shares during the last quarter.

Citi Trends Trading Up 0.2 %

CTRN opened at $18.50 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $159.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.13 and a beta of 2.39. Citi Trends has a 1 year low of $13.65 and a 1 year high of $32.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $16.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.80.

Citi Trends (NASDAQ:CTRN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 27th. The company reported ($1.94) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.52) by ($1.42). The firm had revenue of $176.55 million for the quarter. Citi Trends had a negative net margin of 2.92% and a negative return on equity of 12.62%.

Citi Trends Company Profile

Citi Trends, Inc operates as a value retailer of fashion apparel, accessories, and home goods. The company offers apparel, such as fashion sportswear and footwear for men and ladies, as well as apparel for kids, including newborns, infants, toddlers, boys, and girls; sleepwear, lingerie, and scrubs for ladies; and kids uniforms and accessories.