Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHOE) Short Interest Up 48.5% in July

Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHOE) saw a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 6,288,942 shares, a growth of 48.5% from the July 15th total of 4,235,024 shares. Currently, 34.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 822,176 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.6 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shoe Carnival

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHOE. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Shoe Carnival during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in Shoe Carnival by 45.5% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Shoe Carnival in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Shoe Carnival during the second quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Shoe Carnival during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SHOE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research cut Shoe Carnival from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings initiated coverage on shares of Shoe Carnival in a report on Monday, June 15th. They set a “hold (c-)” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.00.

Shoe Carnival Trading Down 0.8%

SHOE stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $15.38. The stock had a trading volume of 400,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 499,314. The company has a market capitalization of $417.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 1.43. Shoe Carnival has a twelve month low of $14.00 and a twelve month high of $26.57. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $15.37.

Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ:SHOE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter. Shoe Carnival had a net margin of 3.31% and a return on equity of 7.24%. The company had revenue of $270.73 million during the quarter. Equities analysts anticipate that Shoe Carnival will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Shoe Carnival Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 6th were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 6th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Shoe Carnival’s dividend payout ratio is 50.37%.

Shoe Carnival Company Profile

Shoe Carnival, Inc (NASDAQ: SCVL) is a U.S.-based specialty retailer offering a broad assortment of footwear, apparel and accessories for the entire family. Through its network of brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce platform, the company provides casual, athletic and dress shoes for men, women and children, as well as complementary apparel, handbags, socks and other accessories designed to deliver value and variety. Its distinctive in-store carnival host service model aims to create an engaging shopping experience and foster customer loyalty.

Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, Shoe Carnival has expanded over four decades to operate more than 350 retail locations across over 30 states.