Xcel Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:XELB) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Xcel Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:XELB) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 268,300 shares, a decrease of 23.2% from the February 13th total of 349,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 153,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on XELB. Sidoti upgraded shares of Xcel Brands to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Xcel Brands in a research note on Saturday. They set a “sell” rating on the stock.

Xcel Brands Price Performance

XELB opened at $0.27 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.41 million, a P/E ratio of -0.26 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $0.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $0.58. Xcel Brands has a 52-week low of $0.26 and a 52-week high of $1.00.

Xcel Brands (NASDAQ:XELB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 20th. The textile maker reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.06. Xcel Brands had a negative net margin of 236.80% and a negative return on equity of 19.20%. As a group, analysts predict that Xcel Brands will post -0.23 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Brands

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Xcel Brands stock. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Xcel Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:XELB) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,452,593 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 210,000 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC owned about 10.37% of Xcel Brands worth $1,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Institutional investors own 18.55% of the company’s stock.

About Xcel Brands

Xcel Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a media and consumer products company in the United States. The company designs, produces, markets, wholesales, and sells branded apparel, footwear, accessories, jewelry, home goods, and other consumer products; and acquires consumer lifestyle brands, including the Isaac Mizrahi, the LOGO by Lori Goldstein, the Judith Ripka, the Halston brand, the C Wonder, the TowerHill by Christie Brinkley brand (the CB brand), and other brands, as well as manages the Longaberger brand.