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

Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,280,000 shares, an increase of 35.3% from the February 28th total of 6,120,000 shares. Currently, 14.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,990,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days.

Insider Transactions at Urban Outfitters

In other Urban Outfitters news, Director Harry S. Cherken, Jr. sold 55,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.31, for a total value of $3,152,050.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 510,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,245,063.76. This represents a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Azeez Hayne sold 11,676 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total transaction of $639,261.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 99,976 shares of company stock valued at $5,573,263 in the last ninety days. 31.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Urban Outfitters

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. 111 Capital acquired a new stake in Urban Outfitters in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $289,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Urban Outfitters by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,065 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 1,427 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp. acquired a new position in Urban Outfitters in the 4th quarter worth $3,699,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Urban Outfitters during the fourth quarter valued at about $216,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in Urban Outfitters by 1,778.8% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 34,588 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,898,000 after purchasing an additional 32,747 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.61% of the company’s stock.

Urban Outfitters Trading Down 0.7 %

URBN stock opened at $51.48 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $54.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.73. Urban Outfitters has a 12-month low of $33.86 and a 12-month high of $61.16.

Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel retailer reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.15. Urban Outfitters had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 15.86%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Urban Outfitters will post 3.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on URBN shares. Morgan Stanley raised Urban Outfitters from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Urban Outfitters from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group raised 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. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Urban Outfitters from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Urban Outfitters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Urban Outfitters presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.00.

Urban Outfitters Company Profile

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.