Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,300,000 shares, an increase of 23.7% from the November 30th total of 1,860,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 866,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BURL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on Burlington Stores from $327.00 to $317.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Burlington Stores from $334.00 to $339.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Burlington Stores from $313.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of Burlington Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Burlington Stores in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $308.00.

Insider Activity at Burlington Stores

In related news, CMO Jennifer Vecchio sold 494 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.89, for a total transaction of $145,181.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 59,931 shares in the company, valued at $17,613,121.59. This trade represents a 0.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Burlington Stores

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Logan Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Burlington Stores by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 56,354 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,848,000 after acquiring an additional 4,695 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Burlington Stores in the third quarter valued at about $57,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Burlington Stores by 30.7% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,656 shares of the company's stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of Burlington Stores by 29.8% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 8,062 shares of the company's stock worth $2,124,000 after buying an additional 1,851 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Burlington Stores during the third quarter worth about $239,000.

Burlington Stores Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:BURL traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $285.06. The stock had a trading volume of 540,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 889,017. The business's 50 day moving average is $275.10 and its 200-day moving average is $262.40. The company has a market cap of $18.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.64. Burlington Stores has a one year low of $174.64 and a one year high of $298.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.01. Burlington Stores had a net margin of 4.49% and a return on equity of 47.52%. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Burlington Stores will post 7.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Burlington Stores

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.