Foot Locker (NYSE:FL) Now Covered by Analysts at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Foot Locker (NYSE:FL) in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $27.00 price objective on the athletic footwear retailer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on FL. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Foot Locker from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Barclays upgraded shares of Foot Locker from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $27.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com lowered Foot Locker from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Foot Locker in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Foot Locker from $27.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.33.

Foot Locker Stock Performance

Shares of FL opened at $23.11 on Friday. Foot Locker has a fifty-two week low of $20.47 and a fifty-two week high of $35.60. The business’s 50-day moving average is $24.55 and its 200-day moving average is $25.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Foot Locker (NYSE:FL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The athletic footwear retailer reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. Foot Locker had a positive return on equity of 2.73% and a negative net margin of 4.48%. On average, analysts anticipate that Foot Locker will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Vesa Equity Investment S.A R.L sold 539,180 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.22, for a total value of $17,911,559.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,393,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $345,275,126.24. This represents a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Foot Locker

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FL. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Foot Locker in the first quarter valued at about $2,194,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Foot Locker in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,024,000. Interval Partners LP bought a new position in Foot Locker during the first quarter valued at $5,700,000. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Foot Locker in the third quarter valued at $793,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Foot Locker by 8.7% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 25,480 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock valued at $726,000 after buying an additional 2,030 shares during the period.

About Foot Locker

Foot Locker, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a footwear and apparel retailer in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and the Middle East. Its brand portfolio includes Foot Locker, a brand comprising sneakers and apparel; Kids Foot Locker, which offers athletic footwear, apparel, and accessories for children; and Champs Sports that operates as a mall-based specialty athletic footwear and apparel retailer.