Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ:SCVL) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Williams Trading

Williams Trading upgraded shares of Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ:SCVL) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on SCVL. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Shoe Carnival from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Shoe Carnival in a report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Shoe Carnival currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.00.

Shoe Carnival Trading Up 5.4%

Shares of Shoe Carnival stock opened at $20.68 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $19.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.62. Shoe Carnival has a 12-month low of $15.21 and a 12-month high of $26.57. The company has a market cap of $566.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.85 and a beta of 1.36.

Shoe Carnival Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 12th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Shoe Carnival’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Shoe Carnival declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Friday, December 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCVL. New South Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Shoe Carnival by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. New South Capital Management Inc. now owns 744,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,567,000 after acquiring an additional 69,474 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Shoe Carnival by 51.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 642,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,026,000 after purchasing an additional 219,443 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Shoe Carnival by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 585,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,949,000 after purchasing an additional 14,577 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Shoe Carnival by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 577,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,743,000 after buying an additional 160,747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Shoe Carnival by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 454,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,670,000 after buying an additional 10,102 shares in the last quarter. 66.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.