Heartland Advisors Inc. Raises Holdings in Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:SKX)

Heartland Advisors Inc. raised its position in Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:SKX) by 31.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 180,652 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 43,000 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Skechers U.S.A. worth $12,147,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 534.3% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 425 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 53.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 689 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 62.4% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 825 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Skechers U.S.A. during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Skechers U.S.A. in the 3rd quarter valued at $67,000. 79.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Skechers U.S.A. Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:SKX opened at $57.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $8.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.21. Skechers U.S.A., Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.79 and a 52-week high of $78.85. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.27.

Skechers U.S.A. (NYSE:SKX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $0.65 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Skechers U.S.A., Inc. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Skechers U.S.A. from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Skechers U.S.A. in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Skechers U.S.A. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Skechers U.S.A. from $80.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Skechers U.S.A. from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company 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, Skechers U.S.A. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Skechers U.S.A.

In other news, CEO Robert Greenberg sold 52,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.72, for a total transaction of $3,299,072.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,367 shares in the company, valued at $3,848,938.24. This represents a 46.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Michael Greenberg sold 10,274 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.48, for a total transaction of $693,289.52. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 149,327 shares in the company, valued at $10,076,585.96. This represents a 6.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 236,738 shares of company stock worth $14,700,809. Insiders own 24.75% of the company’s stock.

About Skechers U.S.A.

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.