StockNews.com Downgrades Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) to Hold

Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

BURL has been the topic of several other reports. Citigroup raised their target price on Burlington Stores from $276.00 to $313.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Burlington Stores from $284.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Burlington Stores from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Burlington Stores from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Burlington Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Burlington Stores currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $294.94.

Burlington Stores Price Performance

BURL opened at $259.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.59 billion, a PE ratio of 43.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.64. Burlington Stores has a 1 year low of $115.66 and a 1 year high of $282.49. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $254.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $225.31.

Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.42 billion. Burlington Stores had a return on equity of 47.43% and a net margin of 4.18%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Burlington Stores will post 7.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Burlington Stores

In other Burlington Stores news, CMO Jennifer Vecchio sold 494 shares of Burlington Stores stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.37, for a total value of $126,152.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 61,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,809,190.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Burlington Stores

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BURL. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Burlington Stores during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Burlington Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Burlington Stores in the first quarter worth about $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Burlington Stores by 619.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, American National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Burlington Stores during the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000.

About Burlington Stores

Burlington Stores, Inc operates as a retailer of branded merchandise in the United States. The company provides fashion-focused merchandise, including women's ready-to-wear apparel, menswear, youth apparel, footwear, accessories, toys, gifts, and coats, as well as baby, home, and beauty products.