Skechers U.S.A. (NYSE:SKX) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Skechers U.S.A. (NYSE:SKX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on SKX. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Skechers U.S.A. from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wedbush raised their price target on Skechers U.S.A. from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Skechers U.S.A. from $78.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Skechers U.S.A. from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Skechers U.S.A. from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $78.09.

Skechers U.S.A. Stock Performance

Shares of Skechers U.S.A. stock opened at $61.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $64.36 and a 200 day moving average of $66.51. Skechers U.S.A. has a 12 month low of $51.26 and a 12 month high of $75.09.

Skechers U.S.A. (NYSE:SKX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The textile maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. Skechers U.S.A. had a net margin of 7.19% and a return on equity of 13.71%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Skechers U.S.A. will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Skechers U.S.A. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the textile maker to repurchase up to 10.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 5,780.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,639,390 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $176,628,000 after purchasing an additional 2,594,507 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised its position in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 949.5% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 467,774 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $31,303,000 after buying an additional 423,204 shares during the period. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. boosted its holdings in Skechers U.S.A. by 378.6% in the third quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 498,837 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $33,382,000 after acquiring an additional 394,618 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Skechers U.S.A. during the second quarter valued at about $22,425,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in Skechers U.S.A. by 646.3% during the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 323,321 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $22,348,000 after acquiring an additional 280,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.96% of the company’s stock.

About Skechers U.S.A.

Skechers U.SA, Inc designs, develops, markets, and distributes footwear for men, women, and children worldwide. The company operates through Wholesale and Direct-to-Consumer segments. It offers footwear under Skechers Hands Free Slip-ins, Skechers Arch Fit, and Skechers Air-Cooled Memory Foam brands.