Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ:SCVL) Shares Gap Up After Insider Buying Activity

Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCVL) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $34.19, but opened at $36.00. Shoe Carnival shares last traded at $35.40, with a volume of 50,418 shares trading hands.

Specifically, Chairman Wayne J. Weaver purchased 285,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $33.91 per share, with a total value of $9,681,305.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 4,173,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,524,368.39. This trade represents a 7.34 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SCVL shares. Williams Trading upped their target price on shares of Shoe Carnival from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Shoe Carnival from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 30th.

Shoe Carnival Stock Up 4.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 3.88 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $36.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.62. The company has a market capitalization of $969.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 1.53.

Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ:SCVL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. Shoe Carnival had a net margin of 6.12% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The business had revenue of $306.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.97 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Shoe Carnival, Inc. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Shoe Carnival Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 7th were issued a $0.135 dividend. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 7th. Shoe Carnival’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Shoe Carnival

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Shoe Carnival by 8.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Shoe Carnival by 0.7% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 56,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,092,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Shoe Carnival by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 31,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,164,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Shoe Carnival by 1.1% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 52,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,948,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC lifted its stake in Shoe Carnival by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 149,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,566,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares during the last quarter. 66.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Shoe Carnival

Shoe Carnival, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a family footwear retailer in the United States. The company offers range of dress, casual, work, and athletic shoes, as well as sandals and boots for men, women, and children; and various accessories. The company also operates stores, and sells its products through online shopping at shoecarnival.com, as well as through mobile app.