Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN) Short Interest Update

Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,280,000 shares, an increase of 35.3% from the February 28th total of 6,120,000 shares. Approximately 14.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,990,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days.

Insider Transactions at Urban Outfitters

In related news, insider Azeez Hayne sold 11,676 shares of Urban Outfitters stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total value of $639,261.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Harry S. Cherken, Jr. sold 55,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.31, for a total transaction of $3,152,050.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 510,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,245,063.76. The trade was a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 99,976 shares of company stock worth $5,573,263 over the last 90 days. 31.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Urban Outfitters

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 111 Capital acquired a new position in shares of Urban Outfitters in the fourth quarter valued at about $289,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Urban Outfitters by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,065 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 1,427 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp. acquired a new stake in Urban Outfitters during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,699,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in Urban Outfitters during the 4th quarter worth $216,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in Urban Outfitters by 1,778.8% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 34,588 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,898,000 after acquiring an additional 32,747 shares in the last quarter. 77.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Urban Outfitters Trading Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ URBN opened at $52.40 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $54.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.85. Urban Outfitters has a 1 year low of $33.86 and a 1 year high of $61.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.56.

Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel retailer reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.15. Urban Outfitters had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 6.11%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Urban Outfitters will post 3.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on URBN shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Urban Outfitters from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Urban Outfitters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on Urban Outfitters from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Urban Outfitters from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Urban Outfitters from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.00.

Urban Outfitters Company Profile

Urban Outfitters, Inc engages in the retail and wholesale of general consumer products. The company operates through three segments: Retail, Wholesale, and Nuuly. It operates Urban Outfitters stores, which offer women's and men's fashion apparel, activewear, intimates, footwear, accessories, home goods, electronics, and beauty products for young adults aged 18 to 28; and Anthropologie stores that provide women's apparel, accessories, intimates, shoes, and home furnishings, as well as gifts, decorative items, and beauty and wellness products for women aged 28 to 45.