Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:SKX) Short Interest Down 22.1% in December

Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:SKX) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,240,000 shares, a decrease of 22.1% from the December 15th total of 5,440,000 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,000,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SKX shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on Skechers U.S.A. from $88.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Skechers U.S.A. from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Skechers U.S.A. from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on Skechers U.S.A. from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Skechers U.S.A. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Skechers U.S.A. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Skechers U.S.A. news, COO David Weinberg sold 8,219 shares of Skechers U.S.A. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.48, for a total transaction of $554,618.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 122,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,246,798.28. The trade was a 6.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Michael Greenberg sold 10,274 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.48, for a total value of $693,289.52. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 149,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,076,585.96. This trade represents a 6.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 24.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Skechers U.S.A.

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 5,780.6% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,639,390 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $176,628,000 after purchasing an additional 2,594,507 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank grew its position in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 949.5% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 467,774 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $31,303,000 after buying an additional 423,204 shares during the last quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 378.6% during the third quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 498,837 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $33,382,000 after buying an additional 394,618 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 39.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,025,556 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $68,630,000 after buying an additional 287,939 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 646.3% during the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 323,321 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $22,348,000 after acquiring an additional 280,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.96% of the company’s stock.

Skechers U.S.A. Price Performance

NYSE:SKX traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $70.09. The stock had a trading volume of 1,755,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,565,301. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $66.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.96. Skechers U.S.A. has a one year low of $55.67 and a one year high of $75.09.

Skechers U.S.A. (NYSE:SKX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The textile maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.11. Skechers U.S.A. had a net margin of 7.19% and a return on equity of 13.71%. The company had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Skechers U.S.A. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Skechers U.S.A. Company Profile

Skechers U.SA, Inc designs, develops, markets, and distributes footwear for men, women, and children worldwide. The company operates through Wholesale and Direct-to-Consumer segments. It offers footwear under Skechers Hands Free Slip-ins, Skechers Arch Fit, and Skechers Air-Cooled Memory Foam brands.