Five Below, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVE) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Five Below, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVE) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,219,909 shares, an increase of 38.0% from the March 15th total of 1,608,101 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,503,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Currently, 4.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on FIVE. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Five Below from $225.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Five Below in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Five Below from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $206.00 price objective on shares of Five Below in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Five Below from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $240.10.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ronald Sargent sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Kenneth R. Bull sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.14, for a total value of $2,341,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 92,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,665,208.34. This trade represents a 9.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Five Below

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings 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 worth $10,445,139,000 after buying an additional 55,452,926 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Five Below by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,376,471 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $831,740,000 after buying an additional 69,101 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Five Below by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,873,116 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $289,771,000 after buying an additional 332,615 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Five Below by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,508,393 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $284,121,000 after buying an additional 45,761 shares in the last quarter.

Five Below Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ:FIVE opened at $225.06 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.43 billion, a PE ratio of 34.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $220.43 and a 200-day moving average of $188.55. Five Below has a 52 week low of $62.91 and a 52 week high of $238.40.

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

Five Below Company Profile

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.