Burlington Stores Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:BURL)

Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 9,113 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 262% compared to the average daily volume of 2,516 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Burlington Stores from $351.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on Burlington Stores from $365.00 to $411.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Burlington Stores in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Burlington Stores from $345.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 target price on shares of Burlington Stores in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.47.

Key Burlington Stores News

Here are the key news stories impacting Burlington Stores this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Burlington reported first-quarter earnings of $2.01 per share on revenue of $2.86 billion, topping Wall Street estimates and showing 14.1% year-over-year revenue growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its full-year outlook after the quarter, signaling management is more confident in demand and execution as value-seeking shoppers continue to support the off-price model. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted another quarter of strong operating momentum, with the company saying this was its 14th consecutive quarter of double-digit EPS growth. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and preview reports had already expected an earnings beat, which may have reduced the upside surprise when the results were released. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual options activity showed heavier put buying, suggesting some traders were hedging against near-term downside despite the strong earnings report. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investors may be worried that higher startup costs for the new Savannah distribution center could pressure margins later this year, even with strong sales growth. Article Title

Burlington Stores Stock Down 10.6%

Shares of BURL traded down $34.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $291.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,888,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 802,316. The business has a fifty day moving average of $319.98 and a 200 day moving average of $301.10. The company has a market cap of $18.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.48. Burlington Stores has a 1 year low of $218.52 and a 1 year high of $351.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Burlington Stores had a return on equity of 41.37% and a net margin of 5.28%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Burlington Stores will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Burlington Stores

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Essential Partners LLC lifted its stake in Burlington Stores by 142.3% in the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in Burlington Stores during the first quarter valued at about $623,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Burlington Stores by 1.0% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 880,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,341,000 after buying an additional 8,361 shares in the last quarter. Bull Harbor Capital LLC bought a new position in Burlington Stores during the first quarter valued at about $1,091,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Burlington Stores by 148.9% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $746,000 after buying an additional 1,371 shares in the last quarter.

About Burlington Stores

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.