Five Below, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVE) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Five Below, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVE) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,740,000 shares, an increase of 7.0% from the August 31st total of 4,430,000 shares. Approximately 8.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,160,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Five Below Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of FIVE stock opened at $89.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.22. Five Below has a 12 month low of $64.87 and a 12 month high of $216.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.21.

Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.54. Five Below had a net margin of 7.57% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The company had revenue of $830.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $821.95 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Five Below will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Five Below

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Five Below by 30.4% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 13,573 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,462,000 after buying an additional 3,166 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Five Below by 1,842.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 22,528 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,086,000 after purchasing an additional 21,368 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Five Below during the first quarter valued at about $2,656,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Five Below by 1.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,799,561 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $689,165,000 after purchasing an additional 38,419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgefront Capital LLC grew its position in Five Below by 379.0% in the 4th quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC now owns 7,970 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,699,000 after purchasing an additional 6,306 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on FIVE shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Five Below from $145.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Five Below from $165.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Five Below from $190.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Five Below in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Finally, William Blair lowered Five Below from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.00.

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.