Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) Stock Price

Key Points

• Citigroup cut Burlington Stores’ price target to $318 from $380 while maintaining a “neutral” rating, implying about 15.6% upside from the prior close. Despite the reduction, analysts overall remain moderately bullish, with a consensus target of $367.56.
• Burlington posted a strong second quarter, with EPS of $2.96 beating estimates of $2.19 and revenue rising 11% year over year to roughly $3 billion. Management raised full-year fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $11.77–$11.97.
• Near-term outlook was weaker: third-quarter EPS guidance of $1.60–$1.70 fell well below the approximately $2.04 consensus, while comparable-store sales growth slowed to 2%, pressuring the stock, which closed Friday at $275.08.

Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by stock analysts at Citigroup from $380.00 to $318.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. Citigroup's target price indicates a potential upside of 15.60% from the stock's previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Burlington Stores from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Burlington Stores in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Burlington Stores from $365.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $370.00 price objective on Burlington Stores in a research note on Friday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Burlington Stores from $367.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Burlington Stores presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $367.56.

Burlington Stores Stock Performance

BURL traded down $14.92 on Friday, reaching $275.08. 875,825 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 829,117. The company's 50-day moving average price is $340.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $325.21. Burlington Stores has a fifty-two week low of $240.49 and a fifty-two week high of $378.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.31 billion, a PE ratio of 28.27, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.44.

Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The company reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.77. Burlington Stores had a return on equity of 39.93% and a net margin of 5.24%.The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Burlington Stores has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.600-1.700 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 11.770-11.970 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Burlington Stores will post 12.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Burlington Stores

In related news, CAO Stephen Ferroni sold 2,343 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.22, for a total transaction of $790,106.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $469,073.02. This trade represents a 62.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew Pasch sold 3,773 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.21, for a total transaction of $1,196,833.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 6,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,069,160.83. This trade represents a 36.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,392 shares of company stock worth $10,280,271. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Burlington Stores

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Burlington Stores by 44.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 110 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Burlington Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in Burlington Stores in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Burlington Stores by 180.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 126 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Burlington Stores by 235.4% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 161 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period.

More Burlington Stores News

Here are the key news stories impacting Burlington Stores this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Burlington reported second-quarter EPS of $2.96, well above the $2.19 analyst consensus, while revenue increased 11% year over year to approximately $3.0 billion. The company also delivered its 15th consecutive quarter of double-digit EPS growth, supported by a 100-basis-point operating-margin improvement. Burlington Stores second-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised full-year fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $11.77–$11.97, above the roughly $11.23 consensus, and expects revenue of $12.7–$12.8 billion. This suggests continued confidence in sales growth and margin expansion. Burlington Stores earnings guidance
• Positive Sentiment: The retailer plans to use tariff refunds to reduce prices, potentially supporting customer traffic and value perception. Burlington is also continuing its expansion, with 20 stores scheduled to open across 12 states in September. Burlington tariff refunds
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley lowered its price target from $438 to $432 but maintained an Overweight rating. The revised target still implies substantial upside, although the reduction reflects more cautious near-term expectations. Morgan Stanley Burlington rating
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter EPS guidance of $1.60–$1.70 came in well below the approximately $2.04 analyst consensus. Comparable-store sales growth also slowed to 2%, versus 5% in the prior-year period, raising concerns about momentum despite strong total sales growth. Burlington third-quarter guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue of about $3.0 billion was slightly below the $3.03 billion estimate. Investors appear to be treating the revenue shortfall and weak near-term forecast as more important than the earnings beat, prompting the recent pressure on BURL shares. Burlington earnings and tariff costs

About Burlington Stores

Burlington Stores, Inc is an American off-price retailer that sells apparel and home goods at discounted prices. The company's merchandise assortment includes clothing for women, men and children, plus baby products, footwear, accessories, beauty items, toys and home décor. Burlington's merchandising strategy focuses on offering branded and private-label goods at lower prices than traditional department stores by sourcing excess inventory, closeouts and opportunistic buys from manufacturers and other retailers.

The business traces its roots to the Burlington Coat Factory name established in the early 1970s and has since evolved into a broader off-price retailer that carries a wide range of seasonal and everyday merchandise.

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