Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 4,458 Shares of Burlington Stores, Inc. $BURL

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 133,835 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,458 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Burlington Stores were worth $38,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Burlington Stores by 76.6% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,184,000 after buying an additional 1,778 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Burlington Stores by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $551,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in Burlington Stores by 24,166.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Burlington Stores by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S increased its stake in Burlington Stores by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 28,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,374,000 after purchasing an additional 4,740 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $365.00 price target on shares of Burlington Stores in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Burlington Stores from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Burlington Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Burlington Stores in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Burlington Stores in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $355.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Travis Marquette sold 3,759 shares of Burlington Stores stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.75, for a total transaction of $1,232,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 26,350 shares in the company, valued at $8,636,212.50. This trade represents a 12.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Burlington Stores Trading Down 0.6%

BURL opened at $304.74 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $19.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $319.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $297.84. Burlington Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $218.52 and a 1-year high of $351.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $4.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. Burlington Stores had a net margin of 5.28% and a return on equity of 41.37%. The business’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.07 earnings per share. Burlington Stores has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.950-11.450 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.600-1.750 EPS. Analysts predict that Burlington Stores, Inc. will post 11.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Burlington Stores Profile

Burlington Stores, Inc is an American off-price retailer that sells apparel and home goods at discounted prices. The company’s merchandise assortment includes clothing for women, men and children, plus baby products, footwear, accessories, beauty items, toys and home décor. Burlington’s merchandising strategy focuses on offering branded and private-label goods at lower prices than traditional department stores by sourcing excess inventory, closeouts and opportunistic buys from manufacturers and other retailers.

The business traces its roots to the Burlington Coat Factory name established in the early 1970s and has since evolved into a broader off-price retailer that carries a wide range of seasonal and everyday merchandise.