Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRN) Short Interest Down 19.3% in January

Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRN) was the target of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 790,600 shares, a drop of 19.3% from the December 31st total of 979,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 88,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 9.0 days. Approximately 10.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Citi Trends Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Citi Trends stock opened at $25.90 on Friday. Citi Trends has a 1-year low of $13.65 and a 1-year high of $32.90. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.34.

Citi Trends (NASDAQ:CTRN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The company reported ($0.78) earnings per share for the quarter. Citi Trends had a negative net margin of 3.36% and a negative return on equity of 14.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jonathan Duskin sold 12,000 shares of Citi Trends stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.44, for a total value of $317,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 33,396 shares in the company, valued at $882,990.24. The trade was a 26.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Citi Trends by 157.3% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 31,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $816,000 after purchasing an additional 19,005 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Citi Trends by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 25,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Citi Trends during the 4th quarter valued at $85,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Citi Trends by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 100,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,639,000 after buying an additional 6,702 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in Citi Trends by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 25,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $478,000 after buying an additional 4,300 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on CTRN. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Citi Trends from $20.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Citi Trends from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Craig Hallum raised their target price on Citi Trends from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Citi Trends Company Profile

Citi Trends, Inc operates as a value retailer of fashion apparel, accessories, and home goods. The company offers apparel, such as fashion sportswear and footwear for men and ladies, as well as apparel for kids, including newborns, infants, toddlers, boys, and girls; sleepwear, lingerie, and scrubs for ladies; and kids uniforms and accessories.