Merit Financial Group LLC Increases Position in Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL) by 38.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,638 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Burlington Stores were worth $390,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BURL. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Burlington Stores by 81.6% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 89 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Burlington Stores in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Burlington Stores by 104.5% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Burlington Stores by 157.1% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Burlington Stores by 48.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BURL. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Burlington Stores from $297.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Burlington Stores from $344.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (down from $340.00) on shares of Burlington Stores in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Burlington Stores from $287.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Burlington Stores from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $317.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Burlington Stores news, CAO Stephen Ferroni sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.39, for a total value of $108,625.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,389 shares in the company, valued at $576,680.71. This represents a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Travis Marquette sold 190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.63, for a total value of $45,149.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 22,858 shares in the company, valued at $5,431,746.54. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,579 shares of company stock worth $1,338,839 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Burlington Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BURL opened at $238.60 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $239.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $257.65. The company has a market cap of $15.05 billion, a PE ratio of 32.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.65. Burlington Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.92 and a 12-month high of $298.89.

Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. Burlington Stores had a return on equity of 47.52% and a net margin of 4.49%. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.35 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Burlington Stores, Inc. will post 7.93 EPS for the current year.

About Burlington Stores

Burlington Stores, Inc operates as a retailer of branded merchandise in the United States. The company provides fashion-focused merchandise, including women's ready-to-wear apparel, menswear, youth apparel, footwear, accessories, toys, gifts, and coats, as well as baby, home, and beauty products.