Foot Locker (NYSE:FL) Sees Large Volume Increase Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE:FL) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. Approximately 2,763,145 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 11% from the previous session’s volume of 3,106,038 shares.The stock last traded at $18.97 and had previously closed at $17.37.

The athletic footwear retailer reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.14. Foot Locker had a positive return on equity of 2.91% and a negative net margin of 5.24%. The business had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. Foot Locker’s revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FL. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Foot Locker from $30.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Foot Locker from $34.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Foot Locker from $27.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Foot Locker from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Foot Locker from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.35.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Foot Locker

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FL. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Foot Locker by 88.6% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,323,597 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock worth $115,365,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500,396 shares during the period. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC bought a new stake in shares of Foot Locker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,835,000. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Foot Locker during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,416,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in Foot Locker in the 4th quarter worth approximately $18,640,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in Foot Locker by 67.9% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,906,406 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock valued at $41,483,000 after buying an additional 770,932 shares in the last quarter.

Foot Locker Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.12, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.48. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Foot Locker Company Profile

Foot Locker, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a footwear and apparel retailer in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and the Middle East. Its brand portfolio includes Foot Locker, a brand comprising sneakers and apparel; Kids Foot Locker, which offers athletic footwear, apparel, and accessories for children; and Champs Sports that operates as a mall-based specialty athletic footwear and apparel retailer.