Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCVL) Short Interest Down 27.4% in December

Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCVL) saw a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,901,222 shares, a decrease of 27.4% from the December 15th total of 3,997,513 shares. Approximately 16.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 919,804 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days. Based on an average daily volume of 919,804 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days. Approximately 16.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Shoe Carnival by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 80,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 9,298 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Shoe Carnival by 367.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 52,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,150,000 after buying an additional 41,108 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Shoe Carnival by 215.9% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 321,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,076,000 after acquiring an additional 219,918 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Shoe Carnival by 3.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 140,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,082,000 after purchasing an additional 4,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Shoe Carnival by 99.6% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 20,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 10,251 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.05% of the company’s stock.

Shoe Carnival Price Performance

SCVL stock opened at $18.98 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $17.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $519.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.04 and a beta of 1.31. Shoe Carnival has a 52-week low of $15.21 and a 52-week high of $30.92.

Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ:SCVL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53. Shoe Carnival had a return on equity of 8.75% and a net margin of 5.06%.The company had revenue of $297.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $295.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Shoe Carnival has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.800-2.100 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Shoe Carnival will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Shoe Carnival announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, December 12th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 9.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Shoe Carnival Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 26th. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. Shoe Carnival’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on SCVL shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Shoe Carnival in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered Shoe Carnival from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Shoe Carnival from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Shoe Carnival Company Profile

Shoe Carnival, Inc (NASDAQ: SCVL) is a U.S.-based specialty retailer offering a broad assortment of footwear, apparel and accessories for the entire family. Through its network of brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce platform, the company provides casual, athletic and dress shoes for men, women and children, as well as complementary apparel, handbags, socks and other accessories designed to deliver value and variety. Its distinctive in-store carnival host service model aims to create an engaging shopping experience and foster customer loyalty.

Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, Shoe Carnival has expanded over four decades to operate more than 350 retail locations across over 30 states.