Short Interest in Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRN) Increases By 22.1%

Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRN) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 585,062 shares, an increase of 22.1% from the February 26th total of 479,073 shares. Approximately 7.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 65,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.9 days.

Citi Trends Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ CTRN traded down $0.39 during trading on Monday, hitting $42.33. The company had a trading volume of 8,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 97,429. The company’s fifty day moving average is $45.57 and its 200-day moving average is $41.51. Citi Trends has a one year low of $16.82 and a one year high of $56.78. The company has a market cap of $353.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.75 and a beta of 2.06.

Citi Trends (NASDAQ:CTRN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 17th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.07. Citi Trends had a net margin of 0.64% and a negative return on equity of 4.85%. The firm had revenue of $230.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $227.42 million.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CTRN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Citi Trends by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 373,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,595,000 after acquiring an additional 34,450 shares in the last quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. grew its stake in Citi Trends by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. now owns 241,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,043,000 after purchasing an additional 9,180 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Citi Trends by 61.1% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 197,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,214,000 after purchasing an additional 74,994 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Citi Trends by 239.6% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 182,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,569,000 after purchasing an additional 128,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, General Equity Holdings LP lifted its position in Citi Trends by 2.1% during the second quarter. General Equity Holdings LP now owns 172,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,751,000 after buying an additional 3,461 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Citi Trends in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Citi Trends from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. DA Davidson set a $68.00 price objective on Citi Trends in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Citi Trends in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.00.

About Citi Trends

Citi Trends, Inc (NASDAQ: CTRN) is an off-price retail apparel chain that focuses on value-priced urban fashion apparel and accessories for men, women, and children. Headquartered in Savannah, Georgia, the company offers a broad assortment of merchandise, including denim, sportswear, activewear, and seasonal styles, complemented by footwear, jewelry, cosmetics, and home goods. Through its purchasing model, Citi Trends sources closeouts, overstocks and canceled orders from name-brand vendors, enabling it to offer trending styles at competitive price points.

The company operates more than 500 stores across the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, with typical store footprints of approximately 11,000 square feet.