Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:SKX) Short Interest Up 73.7% in February

Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:SKX) saw a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,860,000 shares, an increase of 73.7% from the January 31st total of 3,950,000 shares. Currently, 5.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,220,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Insider Activity at Skechers U.S.A.

In other Skechers U.S.A. news, COO David Weinberg sold 36,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.72, for a total value of $2,257,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 54,499 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,418,177.28. This represents a 39.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark A. Nason sold 12,046 shares of Skechers U.S.A. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.08, for a total transaction of $795,999.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,696,604. The trade was a 31.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 119,139 shares of company stock worth $7,600,899 over the last quarter. 24.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Skechers U.S.A.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SKX. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 5,780.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,639,390 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $176,628,000 after buying an additional 2,594,507 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Skechers U.S.A. in the fourth quarter worth $105,741,000. Duquesne Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Skechers U.S.A. during the fourth quarter valued at $72,272,000. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in Skechers U.S.A. by 772.7% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,176,488 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $79,107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041,677 shares during the period. Finally, Anomaly Capital Management LP boosted its position in Skechers U.S.A. by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Anomaly Capital Management LP now owns 2,989,015 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $200,981,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011,815 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SKX shares. Raymond James dropped their price target on Skechers U.S.A. from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Skechers U.S.A. from $88.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Skechers U.S.A. from $72.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Skechers U.S.A. from $80.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Skechers U.S.A. in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Skechers U.S.A. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.25.

Skechers U.S.A. Stock Up 0.4 %

SKX traded up $0.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $61.01. 2,303,226 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,479,408. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.62. Skechers U.S.A. has a 12-month low of $55.67 and a 12-month high of $78.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Skechers U.S.A. (NYSE:SKX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.08). Skechers U.S.A. had a return on equity of 13.73% and a net margin of 7.13%. Analysts predict that Skechers U.S.A. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Skechers U.S.A. Company Profile

Skechers U.SA, Inc designs, develops, markets, and distributes footwear for men, women, and children worldwide. The company operates through Wholesale and Direct-to-Consumer segments. It offers footwear under Skechers Hands Free Slip-ins, Skechers Arch Fit, and Skechers Air-Cooled Memory Foam brands.