Short Interest in Steven Madden, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SHOO) Decreases By 16.6%

Steven Madden, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SHOO) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,610,000 shares, a drop of 16.6% from the March 15th total of 4,330,000 shares. Approximately 5.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Steven Madden Trading Up 2.6 %

SHOO opened at $20.51 on Wednesday. Steven Madden has a 1-year low of $19.05 and a 1-year high of $50.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 8.73 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.80.

Steven Madden (NASDAQ:SHOO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The textile maker reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.02. Steven Madden had a net margin of 7.68% and a return on equity of 23.41%. The business had revenue of $582.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $550.37 million. On average, research analysts predict that Steven Madden will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Steven Madden Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Steven Madden’s dividend payout ratio is 35.74%.

Institutional Trading of Steven Madden

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHOO. CX Institutional acquired a new position in Steven Madden during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Steven Madden in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Steven Madden by 403.6% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,385 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 1,110 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Steven Madden by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,958 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Steven Madden by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,013 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. 99.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SHOO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on Steven Madden from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Steven Madden in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Steven Madden from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of Steven Madden from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Steven Madden in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.83.

About Steven Madden

Steven Madden, Ltd. designs, sources, and markets fashion-forward branded and private label footwear, accessories, and apparel in the United States and internationally. It operates through Wholesale Footwear, Wholesale Accessories/Apparel, Direct-to- Consumer, and Licensing segments. The Wholesale Footwear segment designs, sources, and markets various products, including dress shoes, boots, booties, fashion sneakers, sandals, and casual shoes under the Steve Madden, Dolce Vita, Betsey Johnson, Blondo, GREATS, and Anne Klein brands.