Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ:SCVL) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCVL)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $22.65, but opened at $21.40. Shoe Carnival shares last traded at $22.72, with a volume of 136,518 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Shoe Carnival from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 30th.

Shoe Carnival Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $606.55 million, a PE ratio of 8.17 and a beta of 1.51. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.08.

Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ:SCVL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $262.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $277.89 million. Shoe Carnival had a net margin of 6.12% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The company’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Shoe Carnival, Inc. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Shoe Carnival Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a positive change from Shoe Carnival’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Shoe Carnival’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.85%.

Shoe Carnival declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 12th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 5.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SCVL. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Shoe Carnival during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,440,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Shoe Carnival by 241.2% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 203,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,742,000 after purchasing an additional 144,066 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Shoe Carnival by 215.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 194,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,438,000 after purchasing an additional 132,844 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Shoe Carnival by 219.0% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 148,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,925,000 after purchasing an additional 102,200 shares during the period. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Shoe Carnival by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 581,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,236,000 after purchasing an additional 96,753 shares during the period. 66.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shoe Carnival Company Profile

Shoe Carnival, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a family footwear retailer in the United States. The company offers range of dress, casual, work, and athletic shoes, as well as sandals and boots for men, women, and children; and various accessories. The company also operates stores, and sells its products through online shopping at shoecarnival.com, as well as through mobile app.