Foot Locker (NYSE:FL) Sees Strong Trading Volume Following Earnings Beat

Shares of Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE:FL) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. Approximately 2,763,145 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the previous session’s volume of 3,106,038 shares.The stock last traded at $18.97 and had previously closed at $17.37.

The athletic footwear retailer reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.13. Foot Locker had a negative net margin of 5.24% and a positive return on equity of 2.91%. The business had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. Foot Locker’s revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Foot Locker from $30.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on shares of Foot Locker in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Foot Locker from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Williams Trading upgraded shares of Foot Locker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $17.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Foot Locker from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Foot Locker currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.18.

Institutional Trading of Foot Locker

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FL. Moody National Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Foot Locker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $610,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Foot Locker by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,908,253 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock valued at $49,319,000 after purchasing an additional 25,394 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Foot Locker in the 3rd quarter valued at $829,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Foot Locker by 88.6% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,323,597 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock worth $115,365,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Foot Locker in the 3rd quarter worth $793,000.

Foot Locker Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $19.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.33. The company has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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.