Short Interest in Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE:FL) Rises By 6.0%

Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE:FL) was the target of a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,820,000 shares, an increase of 6.0% from the October 31st total of 8,320,000 shares. Approximately 10.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on FL shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Foot Locker in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Gordon Haskett began coverage on shares of Foot Locker in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “accumulate” rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Foot Locker from $38.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Foot Locker from $27.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Foot Locker from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Foot Locker currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.87.

Foot Locker Stock Down 9.0 %

FL stock opened at $22.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Foot Locker has a 52-week low of $19.33 and a 52-week high of $35.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.46.

Foot Locker (NYSE:FL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The athletic footwear retailer reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. Foot Locker had a negative net margin of 4.48% and a positive return on equity of 2.73%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Foot Locker will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FL. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC increased its holdings in shares of Foot Locker by 3.1% during the second quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 14,235 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Foot Locker by 1.2% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 41,541 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock worth $1,035,000 after buying an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Foot Locker by 2.2% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 23,808 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock worth $593,000 after buying an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Foot Locker by 2.5% during the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 27,671 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Foot Locker by 116.0% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,365 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares during the last quarter.

About Foot Locker

Foot Locker, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a footwear and apparel retailer in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and the Middle East. Its brand portfolio includes Foot Locker, a brand comprising sneakers and apparel; Kids Foot Locker, which offers athletic footwear, apparel, and accessories for children; and Champs Sports that operates as a mall-based specialty athletic footwear and apparel retailer.