Xcel Brands, Inc (NASDAQ:XELB) Short Interest Down 20.6% in December

Xcel Brands, Inc (NASDAQ:XELB) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 77,900 shares, a decrease of 20.6% from the December 15th total of 98,108 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 56,169 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Based on an average daily volume of 56,169 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Maxim Group started coverage on Xcel Brands in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $3.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Xcel Brands in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.00.

Xcel Brands Stock Performance

Shares of Xcel Brands stock opened at $1.32 on Friday. Xcel Brands has a 12 month low of $0.74 and a 12 month high of $4.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.29 million, a P/E ratio of -0.17 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.36.

Xcel Brands (NASDAQ:XELB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The textile maker reported ($2.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.93) by ($1.09). Xcel Brands had a negative return on equity of 51.46% and a negative net margin of 437.09%.The business had revenue of $1.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.24 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Xcel Brands will post -0.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Xcel Brands news, CEO Loren Robert W. D acquired 81,466 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1.17 per share, for a total transaction of $95,315.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 687,297 shares in the company, valued at $804,137.49. This represents a 13.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 181,466 shares of company stock worth $130,315. Corporate insiders own 29.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Xcel Brands

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Xcel Brands stock. Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Brands, Inc (NASDAQ:XELB) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 49,841 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $88,000. Citadel Advisors LLC owned about 1.05% of Xcel Brands as of its most recent SEC filing. 18.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Brands Company Profile

Xcel Brands, Inc (NASDAQ: XELB) is a lifestyle brand management company that acquires, develops and markets consumer product brands spanning fashion, entertainment and home categories. The company works with designers, celebrities and entertainment properties to create branded apparel, accessories, jewelry and home décor collections. Its portfolio includes licensed and proprietary brands such as Judith Ripka, Isaac Mizrahi and Simple Joys by Carter’s, among others.

The company’s business model centers on sourcing creative talent and intellectual property, then leveraging an in-house product development team to design collections that are manufactured by third-party partners.