Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Five Below, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVE - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $75.59, but opened at $80.10. Five Below shares last traded at $80.30, with a volume of 1,501,686 shares traded.

The specialty retailer reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. Five Below had a return on equity of 18.03% and a net margin of 7.02%. Five Below's revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.65 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on FIVE. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Five Below from $88.00 to $75.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Five Below from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Loop Capital cut their price target on Five Below from $120.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Five Below from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Five Below in a report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $102.16.

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Insider Activity at Five Below

In other Five Below news, CAO Eric M. Specter sold 5,494 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.76, for a total value of $498,635.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,197,552.92. The trade was a 8.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ronald James Masciantonio sold 584 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.04, for a total value of $45,575.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at $987,830.32. The trade was a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Five Below

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FIVE. Steadfast Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Five Below during the fourth quarter worth about $123,601,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Five Below by 86.0% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,320,212 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $243,529,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072,642 shares during the period. Atreides Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Five Below in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $68,649,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new position in shares of Five Below in the third quarter valued at approximately $64,981,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Five Below during the fourth quarter worth approximately $66,933,000.

Five Below Stock Up 3.9 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $87.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.78.

About Five Below

Five Below, Inc operates as a specialty value retailer in the United States. The company offers range of accessories, which includes novelty socks, sunglasses, jewelry, scarves, gloves, hair accessories, athletic tops and bottoms, and t-shirts, as well as nail polish, lip gloss, fragrance, and branded cosmetics; and personalized living space products, such as lamps, posters, frames, fleece blankets, plush items, pillows, candles, incense, lighting, novelty décor, accent furniture, and related items, as well as provides storage options.