Principal Financial Group Inc. Makes New $812,000 Investment in Citi Trends, Inc. $CTRN

Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRN) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 26,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $812,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.31% of Citi Trends at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Citi Trends in the second quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its position in shares of Citi Trends by 63.2% during the second quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 15,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 5,819 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Citi Trends in the 2nd quarter worth $250,000. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in Citi Trends by 27.0% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 9,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 1,978 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Citi Trends during the 2nd quarter valued at $733,000.

Citi Trends Stock Performance

Shares of CTRN opened at $45.85 on Thursday. Citi Trends, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.82 and a fifty-two week high of $49.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $44.23 and a 200 day moving average of $39.07. The firm has a market cap of $382.85 million, a P/E ratio of -22.93 and a beta of 2.12.

Citi Trends (NASDAQ:CTRN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The company reported ($0.88) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.79) by ($0.09). Citi Trends had a negative return on equity of 22.84% and a negative net margin of 2.05%.The company had revenue of $197.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $187.33 million.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CTRN. DA Davidson set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Citi Trends in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Citi Trends in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Citi Trends from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.00.

Citi Trends Profile

Citi Trends, Inc (NASDAQ: CTRN) is an off-price retail apparel chain that focuses on value-priced urban fashion apparel and accessories for men, women, and children. Headquartered in Savannah, Georgia, the company offers a broad assortment of merchandise, including denim, sportswear, activewear, and seasonal styles, complemented by footwear, jewelry, cosmetics, and home goods. Through its purchasing model, Citi Trends sources closeouts, overstocks and canceled orders from name-brand vendors, enabling it to offer trending styles at competitive price points.

The company operates more than 500 stores across the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, with typical store footprints of approximately 11,000 square feet.