Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN) saw a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,320,000 shares, a decrease of 23.7% from the March 15th total of 8,280,000 shares. Approximately 10.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on URBN. StockNews.com lowered Urban Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on Urban Outfitters from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Urban Outfitters from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Urban Outfitters from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Urban Outfitters from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.18.

Urban Outfitters Price Performance

NASDAQ URBN opened at $49.48 on Monday. Urban Outfitters has a 12 month low of $33.86 and a 12 month high of $61.16. The company has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $51.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.01.

Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel retailer reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.63 billion. Urban Outfitters had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 6.11%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Urban Outfitters will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Urban Outfitters

In other Urban Outfitters news, Director Wesley S. Mcdonald sold 8,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.44, for a total value of $485,052.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $902,898. This trade represents a 34.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Harry S. Cherken, Jr. sold 15,000 shares of Urban Outfitters stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.50, for a total value of $757,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 495,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,012,448. This represents a 2.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 44,976 shares of company stock valued at $2,421,213. Corporate insiders own 31.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Urban Outfitters

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Urban Outfitters by 183,272.0% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,094,731 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $60,079,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094,134 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Urban Outfitters by 5,565.6% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 875,336 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $48,038,000 after buying an additional 859,886 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in shares of Urban Outfitters during the first quarter worth about $40,544,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Urban Outfitters in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,605,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Urban Outfitters during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $21,140,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.61% of the company’s stock.

About Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters, Inc engages in the retail and wholesale of general consumer products. The company operates through three segments: Retail, Wholesale, and Nuuly. It operates Urban Outfitters stores, which offer women's and men's fashion apparel, activewear, intimates, footwear, accessories, home goods, electronics, and beauty products for young adults aged 18 to 28; and Anthropologie stores that provide women's apparel, accessories, intimates, shoes, and home furnishings, as well as gifts, decorative items, and beauty and wellness products for women aged 28 to 45.