Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ:SCVL) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCVL) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $34.19, but opened at $36.00. Shoe Carnival shares last traded at $35.40, with a volume of 50,418 shares.

Specifically, Chairman Wayne J. Weaver bought 285,500 shares of Shoe Carnival stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $33.91 per share, with a total value of $9,681,305.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 4,173,529 shares in the company, valued at $141,524,368.39. The trade was a 7.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on SCVL shares. Williams Trading increased their target price on Shoe Carnival from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com raised Shoe Carnival from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 30th.

Shoe Carnival Stock Down 0.1 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $36.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $968.34 million, a P/E ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 3.88 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ:SCVL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. Shoe Carnival had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 6.12%. The firm had revenue of $306.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.97 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Shoe Carnival, Inc. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Shoe Carnival Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Monday, October 7th were paid a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 7th. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Shoe Carnival’s payout ratio is presently 19.85%.

Institutional Trading of Shoe Carnival

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SCVL. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Shoe Carnival in the third quarter worth about $37,440,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Shoe Carnival by 34.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 410,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,138,000 after purchasing an additional 105,818 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Shoe Carnival by 726.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 101,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,757,000 after purchasing an additional 89,504 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Shoe Carnival by 138.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 59,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,598,000 after purchasing an additional 34,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Shoe Carnival by 98.9% in the second quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 56,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,095,000 after purchasing an additional 28,233 shares during the last quarter. 66.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Shoe Carnival Company Profile

Shoe Carnival, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a family footwear retailer in the United States. The company offers range of dress, casual, work, and athletic shoes, as well as sandals and boots for men, women, and children; and various accessories. The company also operates stores, and sells its products through online shopping at shoecarnival.com, as well as through mobile app.