Five Below, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVE) Short Interest Up 8.5% in January

Five Below, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVE) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,320,000 shares, an increase of 8.5% from the December 31st total of 3,980,000 shares. Currently, 8.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,790,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Insider Transactions at Five Below

In related news, CAO Eric M. Specter sold 5,494 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.76, for a total value of $498,635.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,197,552.92. This trade represents a 8.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Five Below

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Five Below by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,662,313 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $146,865,000 after purchasing an additional 31,520 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Five Below by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 979,489 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $86,559,000 after purchasing an additional 11,504 shares during the period. Atreides Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Five Below during the third quarter worth approximately $68,649,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of Five Below during the third quarter worth approximately $64,981,000. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its position in Five Below by 39.5% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 618,372 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $64,904,000 after acquiring an additional 175,131 shares in the last quarter.

Five Below Price Performance

Shares of FIVE opened at $92.33 on Tuesday. Five Below has a one year low of $64.87 and a one year high of $212.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $100.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.19. The stock has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.13.

Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The specialty retailer reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $843.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $801.48 million. Five Below had a net margin of 7.02% and a return on equity of 18.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Five Below will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on shares of Five Below from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Five Below in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Five Below from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. KeyCorp cut shares of Five Below from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Five Below from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.32.

About Five Below

Five Below, Inc operates as a specialty value retailer in the United States. The company offers range of accessories, which includes novelty socks, sunglasses, jewelry, scarves, gloves, hair accessories, athletic tops and bottoms, and t-shirts, as well as nail polish, lip gloss, fragrance, and branded cosmetics; and personalized living space products, such as lamps, posters, frames, fleece blankets, plush items, pillows, candles, incense, lighting, novelty décor, accent furniture, and related items, as well as provides storage options.