Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) Short Interest Up 39.2% in March

Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,550,000 shares, a growth of 39.2% from the February 28th total of 6,860,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,110,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days. Currently, 13.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Victoria’s Secret & Co. Stock Performance

Victoria’s Secret & Co. stock traded down $1.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $18.32. 3,930,272 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,778,491. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.12, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of 9.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.16. Victoria’s Secret & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $15.12 and a fifty-two week high of $48.73.

Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. Victoria’s Secret & Co. had a return on equity of 44.74% and a net margin of 2.47%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Victoria’s Secret & Co. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Victoria’s Secret & Co.

In other Victoria’s Secret & Co. news, major shareholder International Pte Ltd Bbrc acquired 80,328 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.78 per share, with a total value of $1,347,903.84. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 9,255,347 shares in the company, valued at $155,304,722.66. This represents a 0.88 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 707,473 shares of company stock worth $12,393,117. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Victoria’s Secret & Co.

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. by 1,898.1% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,955 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. by 326.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Victoria’s Secret & Co. by 47.1% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Victoria’s Secret & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $112,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on VSCO. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $40.00 to $35.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price target on Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $40.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $40.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $38.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $43.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.73.

Victoria’s Secret & Co. Company Profile

Victoria’s Secret & Co operates as a lingerie, clothing and beauty retailer. It offers bras, panties, lingerie, pajamas, sleep, sport and swim apparel, and beauty products. The company was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Reynoldsburg, OH.