Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 59,173 Shares of Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL) by 35.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 227,020 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,173 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.36% of Burlington Stores worth $64,714,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BURL. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Burlington Stores by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,074,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $282,582,000 after purchasing an additional 18,160 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Burlington Stores by 1,048.8% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 730,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,478,000 after buying an additional 666,934 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Burlington Stores by 2.4% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 510,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,394,000 after buying an additional 12,143 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Burlington Stores by 2.0% during the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 403,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,441,000 after acquiring an additional 7,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its stake in Burlington Stores by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 396,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,151,000 after acquiring an additional 24,576 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Jennifer Vecchio sold 493 shares of Burlington Stores stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.75, for a total value of $135,944.75. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 58,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,253,808. This trade represents a 0.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,481 shares of company stock worth $421,892 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Burlington Stores from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Burlington Stores from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Burlington Stores from $315.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Burlington Stores in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Burlington Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $280.00 to $360.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Burlington Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $317.87.

Burlington Stores Price Performance

Shares of BURL stock opened at $241.97 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $279.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $270.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Burlington Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $174.64 and a one year high of $298.89. The company has a market capitalization of $15.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.62.

Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.01. Burlington Stores had a return on equity of 47.52% and a net margin of 4.49%. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Burlington Stores, Inc. will post 7.93 EPS for the current year.

About Burlington Stores

Burlington Stores, Inc operates as a retailer of branded merchandise in the United States. The company provides fashion-focused merchandise, including women's ready-to-wear apparel, menswear, youth apparel, footwear, accessories, toys, gifts, and coats, as well as baby, home, and beauty products.