Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCVL) Short Interest Update

Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCVL) saw a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,850,000 shares, a growth of 27.1% from the February 28th total of 3,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 493,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.8 days. Approximately 21.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Shoe Carnival Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of Shoe Carnival stock opened at $23.00 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.85. The firm has a market cap of $625.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.46 and a beta of 1.35. Shoe Carnival has a fifty-two week low of $20.51 and a fifty-two week high of $46.92.

Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ:SCVL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $262.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $277.89 million. Shoe Carnival had a net margin of 6.12% and a return on equity of 12.52%. Shoe Carnival’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Shoe Carnival will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Shoe Carnival Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. This is a boost from Shoe Carnival’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. Shoe Carnival’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.39%.

Shoe Carnival announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 5.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shoe Carnival

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SCVL. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Shoe Carnival by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Shoe Carnival by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 56,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,884,000 after buying an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Shoe Carnival by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 9,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Shoe Carnival by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 987 shares during the period. Finally, Snowden Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Shoe Carnival by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123 shares in the last quarter. 66.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Shoe Carnival

Shoe Carnival, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a family footwear retailer in the United States. The company offers range of dress, casual, work, and athletic shoes, as well as sandals and boots for men, women, and children; and various accessories. The company also operates stores, and sells its products through online shopping at shoecarnival.com, as well as through mobile app.