Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRN) Short Interest Update

Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRN) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 746,900 shares, a drop of 5.5% from the January 15th total of 790,600 shares. Currently, 9.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 97,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jonathan Duskin sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.44, for a total transaction of $317,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 33,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $882,990.24. This trade represents a 26.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Citi Trends by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 100,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,639,000 after purchasing an additional 6,702 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Citi Trends during the third quarter worth $193,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Citi Trends by 19.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 25,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 4,300 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Citi Trends by 5.3% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 24,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 1,206 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in Citi Trends by 111.3% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 8,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 4,250 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTRN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their target price on Citi Trends from $20.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised Citi Trends from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Craig Hallum raised Citi Trends from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th.

Citi Trends Stock Performance

Shares of Citi Trends stock opened at $28.88 on Wednesday. Citi Trends has a 52 week low of $13.65 and a 52 week high of $32.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $251.54 million, a PE ratio of -9.41 and a beta of 2.27.

Citi Trends (NASDAQ:CTRN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The company reported ($0.78) earnings per share for the quarter. Citi Trends had a negative net margin of 3.36% and a negative return on equity of 14.43%.

About Citi Trends

Citi Trends, Inc operates as a value retailer of fashion apparel, accessories, and home goods. The company offers apparel, such as fashion sportswear and footwear for men and ladies, as well as apparel for kids, including newborns, infants, toddlers, boys, and girls; sleepwear, lingerie, and scrubs for ladies; and kids uniforms and accessories.