Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on the stock from $46.00 to $31.00. The stock had previously closed at $22.21, but opened at $20.86. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Victoria’s Secret & Co. shares last traded at $20.45, with a volume of 2,398,233 shares traded.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on VSCO. Bank of America decreased their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $43.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $47.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.09.

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

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. by 1,898.1% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,058 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,955 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. by 326.6% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. by 47.1% in the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Victoria’s Secret & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $112,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.29% of the company’s stock.

Victoria’s Secret & Co. Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.16.

Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.30. Victoria’s Secret & Co. had a return on equity of 44.74% and a net margin of 2.47%. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Victoria’s Secret & Co. will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

About Victoria’s Secret & Co.

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.