Foot Locker (NYSE:FL) Sees Strong Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE:FL) saw strong trading volume on Friday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $20.00 to $24.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. 5,527,936 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 43% from the previous session’s volume of 3,871,106 shares.The stock last traded at $23.79 and had previously closed at $23.90.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on FL. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $24.00 target price (up previously from $14.00) on shares of Foot Locker in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Foot Locker from $14.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of Foot Locker in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Foot Locker from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Foot Locker from $22.00 to $15.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Foot Locker currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.19.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Foot Locker by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 8,728 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock worth $190,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in Foot Locker by 81.6% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,442 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Foot Locker by 27.2% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,579 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 980 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC increased its stake in Foot Locker by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 12,784 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 1,031 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Foot Locker in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000.

Foot Locker Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.28, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $13.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Foot Locker (NYSE:FL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The athletic footwear retailer reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. Foot Locker had a negative net margin of 5.24% and a positive return on equity of 2.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Foot Locker, Inc. will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

Foot Locker Company Profile

Foot Locker, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a footwear and apparel retailer in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and the Middle East. Its brand portfolio includes Foot Locker, a brand comprising sneakers and apparel; Kids Foot Locker, which offers athletic footwear, apparel, and accessories for children; and Champs Sports that operates as a mall-based specialty athletic footwear and apparel retailer.