Empire Life Investments Inc. Has $2.28 Million Stock Position in Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL)

Empire Life Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL) by 31.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,983 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,922 shares during the quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc.’s holdings in Burlington Stores were worth $2,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Burlington Stores by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,074,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $282,582,000 after acquiring an additional 18,160 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Burlington Stores by 1,048.8% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 730,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,478,000 after buying an additional 666,934 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Burlington Stores by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 510,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,394,000 after buying an additional 12,143 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Burlington Stores by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 403,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,441,000 after buying an additional 7,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Burlington Stores by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 396,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,151,000 after buying an additional 24,576 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Burlington Stores from $315.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Burlington Stores from $334.00 to $339.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays cut their price objective on Burlington Stores from $327.00 to $317.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group raised Burlington Stores from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $280.00 to $360.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Burlington Stores from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $317.87.

Burlington Stores Stock Down 1.5 %

BURL stock opened at $244.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.51, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.62. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $282.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $270.96. Burlington Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $174.64 and a fifty-two week high of $298.89.

Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.01. Burlington Stores had a return on equity of 47.52% and a net margin of 4.49%. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Burlington Stores’s revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Burlington Stores, Inc. will post 7.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Jennifer Vecchio sold 494 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.89, for a total value of $145,181.66. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 59,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,613,121.59. This trade represents a 0.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,481 shares of company stock worth $421,892. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Burlington Stores Profile

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.