Magnetar Financial LLC Makes New $163,000 Investment in Foot Locker, Inc. $FL

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC acquired 11,535 shares of Foot Locker, Inc. valued at approximately $163,000, marking a new investment in the company during the first quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Price T Rowe Associates and Ameriprise Financial, have significantly increased their stakes in Foot Locker, reflecting renewed interest from hedge funds.
• Foot Locker's recent earnings report showed a loss of ($0.27) per share, falling short of the expected profit and indicating a challenging financial outlook with a revenue drop of 2.3% year-over-year.

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE:FL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 11,535 shares of the athletic footwear retailer's stock, valued at approximately $163,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FL. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Foot Locker by 67.9% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,906,406 shares of the athletic footwear retailer's stock worth $41,483,000 after purchasing an additional 770,932 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Foot Locker by 691.4% during the 1st quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 472,118 shares of the athletic footwear retailer's stock worth $6,657,000 after purchasing an additional 412,461 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Foot Locker during the 1st quarter worth $5,311,000. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of Foot Locker during the 1st quarter worth $4,268,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Foot Locker by 66.8% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 737,299 shares of the athletic footwear retailer's stock worth $16,044,000 after purchasing an additional 295,243 shares during the last quarter.

Foot Locker Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FL traded down $0.08 on Monday, reaching $24.03. 8,308,221 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,609,406. The company has a 50-day moving average of $25.18 and a 200-day moving average of $20.24. The firm has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.79. Foot Locker, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.00 and a 1-year high of $29.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Foot Locker (NYSE:FL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The athletic footwear retailer reported ($0.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.32). The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Foot Locker had a positive return on equity of 2.92% and a negative net margin of 4.90%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.05) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Foot Locker, Inc. will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FL shares. Zacks Research upgraded Foot Locker from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Barclays downgraded shares of Foot Locker from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Foot Locker from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of Foot Locker in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Foot Locker in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Franklin Bracken sold 14,922 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.50, for a total value of $365,589.00. Following the transaction, the president owned 213,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,230,652. This trade represents a 6.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Giovanna Cipriano sold 22,383 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.90, for a total transaction of $557,336.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 93,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,337,985.50. This represents a 19.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Foot Locker

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.