Foot Locker Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:FL)

Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE:FL) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 17,557 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 114% compared to the average volume of 8,196 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FL shares. Gordon Haskett began coverage on shares of Foot Locker in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “accumulate” rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded Foot Locker from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $18.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Foot Locker from $27.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays upgraded shares of Foot Locker from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $27.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Foot Locker from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Foot Locker

In related news, major shareholder Vesa Equity Investment S.A R.L sold 539,180 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.22, for a total transaction of $17,911,559.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,393,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $345,275,126.24. This represents a 4.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 787,566 shares of company stock worth $26,090,866 in the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Foot Locker

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Foot Locker in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Foot Locker by 116.0% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,365 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Foot Locker by 156.1% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,616 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Foot Locker in the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Foot Locker during the 3rd quarter worth $47,000.

Foot Locker Price Performance

FL stock traded down $0.45 on Friday, reaching $23.30. The company had a trading volume of 417,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,214,948. Foot Locker has a 1 year low of $20.47 and a 1 year high of $35.60. The company’s fifty day moving average is $24.87 and its 200 day moving average is $25.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

Foot Locker (NYSE:FL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The athletic footwear retailer reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.03. Foot Locker had a positive return on equity of 2.73% and a negative net margin of 4.48%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Foot Locker will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Foot Locker Company Profile

Foot Locker, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a footwear and apparel retailer in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and the Middle East. Its brand portfolio includes Foot Locker, a brand comprising sneakers and apparel; Kids Foot Locker, which offers athletic footwear, apparel, and accessories for children; and Champs Sports that operates as a mall-based specialty athletic footwear and apparel retailer.