Foot Locker (NYSE:FL) Sees Large Volume Increase After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE:FL) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. Approximately 2,763,145 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the previous session’s volume of 3,106,038 shares.The stock last traded at $18.97 and had previously closed at $17.37.

The athletic footwear retailer reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.14. Foot Locker had a negative net margin of 5.24% and a positive return on equity of 2.91%. The business had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FL. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on shares of Foot Locker in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Foot Locker from $27.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Foot Locker from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Foot Locker from $26.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Williams Trading raised shares of Foot Locker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.35.

Institutional Trading of Foot Locker

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Foot Locker by 88.6% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,323,597 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock valued at $115,365,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500,396 shares during the last quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC acquired a new position in Foot Locker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,835,000. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Foot Locker during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,416,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Foot Locker during the 4th quarter worth approximately $18,640,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Foot Locker by 67.9% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,906,406 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock valued at $41,483,000 after acquiring an additional 770,932 shares in the last quarter.

Foot Locker Stock Up 8.5 %

The company has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.98 and its 200-day moving average is $23.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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.