Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:OLLI) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:OLLI - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,100,000 shares, a drop of 18.8% from the December 15th total of 3,820,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,130,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 5.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OLLI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Ollie's Bargain Outlet from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup raised Ollie's Bargain Outlet from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $64.00 to $133.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Ollie's Bargain Outlet in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ollie's Bargain Outlet from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ollie's Bargain Outlet from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ollie's Bargain Outlet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $118.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ollie's Bargain Outlet news, Director Thomas Hendrickson sold 6,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction of $717,125.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Larry Kraus sold 10,646 shares of Ollie's Bargain Outlet stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.58, for a total value of $1,230,464.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $220,179.90. The trade was a 84.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 87,771 shares of company stock valued at $9,650,832. 0.87% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ollie's Bargain Outlet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ollie's Bargain Outlet by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 7,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $744,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Ollie's Bargain Outlet by 25.2% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 27,889 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,738,000 after purchasing an additional 5,618 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ollie's Bargain Outlet by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 237,267 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,292,000 after purchasing an additional 13,460 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in Ollie's Bargain Outlet by 8.9% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,392 shares of the company's stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of Ollie's Bargain Outlet by 26.4% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 5,297 shares of the company's stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares during the period.

Ollie's Bargain Outlet Stock Performance

Shares of Ollie's Bargain Outlet stock traded up $8.13 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $105.13. 1,087,259 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,147,793. The company has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.82. Ollie's Bargain Outlet has a 12 month low of $68.05 and a 12 month high of $120.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $104.13 and a 200-day moving average of $98.56.

Ollie's Bargain Outlet (NASDAQ:OLLI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.01. Ollie's Bargain Outlet had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The firm had revenue of $517.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $518.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ollie's Bargain Outlet will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ollie's Bargain Outlet Company Profile

Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc operates as a retailer of brand name merchandise in the United States. The company offers housewares, bed and bath, food, floor coverings, health and beauty aids, books and stationery, toys, and electronics; and other products, including hardware, candy, clothing, sporting goods, pet and lawn, and garden products.