Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 5,384 Shares of Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 547,889 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 5,384 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Etsy were worth $28,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ETSY. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Etsy by 106.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 448 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Etsy during the third quarter worth $1,233,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Etsy by 740.9% during the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 55,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,082,000 after acquiring an additional 48,900 shares during the period. Bristlecone Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Etsy by 34.2% during the third quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 8,119 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 2,067 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in Etsy by 404.3% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 65,483 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,636,000 after acquiring an additional 52,497 shares during the period. 99.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Etsy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ETSY opened at $51.26 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 2.00. Etsy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $47.10 and a 52-week high of $74.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $54.43 and a 200 day moving average of $53.78.

Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $852.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $861.37 million. Etsy had a negative return on equity of 46.62% and a net margin of 10.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Etsy, Inc. will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Etsy announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 17.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Etsy news, insider Nicholas Daniel sold 1,500 shares of Etsy stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.34, for a total transaction of $83,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,228,437.32. The trade was a 6.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETSY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Etsy from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Etsy from $70.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Etsy from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Etsy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Etsy from $105.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.78.

Etsy Company Profile

Etsy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates two-sided online marketplaces that connect buyers and sellers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Australia, and France. Its primary marketplace is Etsy.com that connects artisans and entrepreneurs with various consumers. The company also offers Reverb, a musical instrument marketplace; Depop, a fashion resale marketplace; and Elo7, a Brazil-based marketplace for handmade and unique items.