Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL) Short Interest Up 5.8% in October

Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,010,000 shares, a growth of 5.8% from the October 15th total of 1,900,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 820,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Burlington Stores Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of BURL traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $272.58. The stock had a trading volume of 389,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 883,363. The firm has a market cap of $17.35 billion, a PE ratio of 40.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.64. Burlington Stores has a 1 year low of $133.09 and a 1 year high of $282.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $260.98 and its 200 day moving average is $245.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.42 billion. Burlington Stores had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 47.43%. The company’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Burlington Stores will post 7.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul Sullivan sold 1,705 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.05, for a total transaction of $472,370.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,048,230.65. This represents a 18.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Burlington Stores

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Burlington Stores by 1.5% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,394,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,716,986,000 after buying an additional 111,526 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Burlington Stores by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,684,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $391,066,000 after purchasing an additional 12,238 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Burlington Stores by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,074,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $282,582,000 after purchasing an additional 18,160 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Burlington Stores by 9.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 772,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,282,000 after buying an additional 64,410 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Burlington Stores by 1,048.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 730,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,478,000 after buying an additional 666,934 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BURL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Burlington Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Burlington Stores from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Burlington Stores from $278.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Burlington Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Burlington Stores from $275.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.56.

Burlington Stores Company Profile

Burlington Stores, Inc operates as a retailer of branded merchandise in the United States. The company provides fashion-focused merchandise, including women's ready-to-wear apparel, menswear, youth apparel, footwear, accessories, toys, gifts, and coats, as well as baby, home, and beauty products.