Crown Crafts, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWS) Short Interest Update

Crown Crafts, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWS) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 29,866 shares, an increase of 74.5% from the July 15th total of 17,112 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 51,691 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crown Crafts

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Crown Crafts by 3.0% during the third quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 128,120 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 3,688 shares in the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co bought a new position in Crown Crafts in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $413,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Crown Crafts in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $431,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Crown Crafts by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 56,348 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 4,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Crown Crafts during the 2nd quarter valued at $503,000. 30.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised Crown Crafts from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Crown Crafts Stock Up 3.3%

CRWS traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $2.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 159,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 44,338. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.27 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 3.20, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Crown Crafts has a 1 year low of $2.35 and a 1 year high of $3.17. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $2.91 and its 200-day moving average is $2.85.

Crown Crafts (NASDAQ:CRWS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The textile maker reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.05. Crown Crafts had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 12.79%. The firm had revenue of $16.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.90 million.

Crown Crafts Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Crown Crafts’s payout ratio is presently 68.09%.

About Crown Crafts

Crown Crafts, Inc (NASDAQ: CRWS) is a U.S.-based designer, marketer and distributor of infant, toddler and juvenile consumer products. The company develops a wide range of softlines and related accessories, including crib and toddler bedding, blankets, decorative pillows, bath towels and washcloths. Since its founding in 1957, Crown Crafts has focused on combining creative design with functional quality to meet the shifting preferences of young families and caregivers.

The company operates two primary business segments.