Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCVL) Short Interest Down 27.4% in December

Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCVL) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,901,222 shares, a decline of 27.4% from the December 15th total of 3,997,513 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 919,804 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 16.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Approximately 16.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 919,804 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Institutional Trading of Shoe Carnival

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Shoe Carnival by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,718,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,146,000 after acquiring an additional 318,771 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Shoe Carnival by 51.8% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 642,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,026,000 after purchasing an additional 219,443 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Shoe Carnival by 2.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 585,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,949,000 after purchasing an additional 14,577 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Shoe Carnival by 1.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 447,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,373,000 after purchasing an additional 5,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Shoe Carnival by 1.3% in the third quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 444,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,237,000 after purchasing an additional 5,882 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on SCVL. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Shoe Carnival in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Shoe Carnival from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Shoe Carnival from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Shoe Carnival currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Shoe Carnival Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SCVL traded down $0.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $18.98. 329,943 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 687,381. The stock has a market cap of $519.67 million, a P/E ratio of 9.04 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.84. Shoe Carnival has a 52-week low of $15.21 and a 52-week high of $30.92.

Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ:SCVL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.53. Shoe Carnival had a return on equity of 8.75% and a net margin of 5.06%.The company had revenue of $297.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $295.25 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. Shoe Carnival’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Shoe Carnival has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.800-2.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Shoe Carnival will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Shoe Carnival declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, December 12th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 9.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Shoe Carnival Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 26th. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Shoe Carnival’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.57%.

About Shoe Carnival

Shoe Carnival, Inc (NASDAQ: SCVL) is a U.S.-based specialty retailer offering a broad assortment of footwear, apparel and accessories for the entire family. Through its network of brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce platform, the company provides casual, athletic and dress shoes for men, women and children, as well as complementary apparel, handbags, socks and other accessories designed to deliver value and variety. Its distinctive in-store carnival host service model aims to create an engaging shopping experience and foster customer loyalty.

Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, Shoe Carnival has expanded over four decades to operate more than 350 retail locations across over 30 states.