Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Five Below, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVE)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $238.43 and last traded at $240.23, with a volume of 196848 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $236.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FIVE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $246.00 price target on shares of Five Below in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Five Below from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Five Below from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Barclays upped their target price on Five Below from $193.00 to $211.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Five Below from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Five Below presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.10.

Five Below Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $221.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.60. The company has a market cap of $13.39 billion, a PE ratio of 37.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.07.

Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $4.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.00 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Five Below had a return on equity of 18.70% and a net margin of 7.53%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.48 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Five Below, Inc. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Five Below

In other news, Director Ronald Sargent sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.28, for a total value of $2,312,800.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 83,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,352,122.72. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Kenneth R. Bull sold 10,000 shares of Five Below stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.14, for a total transaction of $2,341,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 92,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,665,208.34. This represents a 9.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Five Below

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FIVE. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Five Below by 40,774,210.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 55,453,062 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $10,445,139,000 after acquiring an additional 55,452,926 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Five Below in the 4th quarter worth approximately $182,786,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Five Below by 176.0% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,168,832 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $220,161,000 after buying an additional 745,272 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Five Below by 397.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 819,502 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $126,777,000 after buying an additional 654,763 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Five Below by 54.6% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,785,169 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $336,254,000 after buying an additional 630,710 shares during the period.

About Five Below

Five Below, Inc (NASDAQ:FIVE) is an American specialty discount retailer offering a broad assortment of merchandise priced primarily at $5 or below. Since its founding in 2002 by David Schlessinger and Tom Vellios, the company has pursued a value-focused retail model targeting tweens, teens and beyond, with stores designed to deliver trend-driven products at an accessible price point. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Five Below has grown into a national chain operating in dozens of U.S.