Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN) by 5.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 331,075 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 20,492 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Urban Outfitters were worth $12,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Urban Outfitters by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,327 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Urban Outfitters by 2.8% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 9,361 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Urban Outfitters by 15.5% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Urban Outfitters by 138.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 609 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Urban Outfitters by 2.4% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,976 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Tricia D. Smith sold 11,730 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.29, for a total transaction of $413,951.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 31.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on URBN. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Urban Outfitters from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group lowered Urban Outfitters from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $49.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Urban Outfitters from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Urban Outfitters from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Urban Outfitters from $52.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Urban Outfitters currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.30.

Urban Outfitters Stock Performance

Shares of URBN opened at $38.22 on Friday. Urban Outfitters, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.37 and a fifty-two week high of $48.90. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.50.

Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Urban Outfitters had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 5.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Urban Outfitters, Inc. will post 3.65 EPS for the current year.

Urban Outfitters Company Profile

Urban Outfitters, Inc engages in the retail and wholesale of general consumer products. The company operates through three segments: Retail, Wholesale, and Nuuly. It operates Urban Outfitters stores, which offer women's and men's fashion apparel, activewear, intimates, footwear, accessories, home goods, electronics, and beauty products for young adults aged 18 to 28; and Anthropologie stores that provide women's apparel, accessories, intimates, shoes, and home furnishings, as well as gifts, decorative items, and beauty and wellness products for women aged 28 to 45.