Bailard Inc. Buys New Position in Five Below, Inc. $FIVE

Key Points

• Bailard Inc. opened a new position in Five Below in the fourth quarter, buying 7,946 shares valued at about $1.5 million.
• Five Below reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.31 versus $4.00 expected and revenue of $1.73 billion, up 24.3% year over year.
• Wall Street remains constructive on the stock, with analysts assigning a Moderate Buy rating and a consensus price target of $240.10, even as some company insiders recently sold shares.

Bailard Inc. bought a new position in shares of Five Below, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 7,946 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,497,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FIVE. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Five Below by 143.0% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in Five Below during the 1st quarter worth $268,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Five Below during the 1st quarter worth $1,416,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Five Below by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 184,518 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $13,825,000 after purchasing an additional 21,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in Five Below by 63.8% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,858 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503 shares in the last quarter.

Five Below Stock Performance

Five Below stock opened at $209.99 on Thursday. Five Below, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.39 and a fifty-two week high of $251.63. The company has a market capitalization of $11.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.51, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $225.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $198.22.

Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $4.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.00 by $0.31. Five Below had a return on equity of 18.70% and a net margin of 7.53%.The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.48 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Five Below, Inc. will post 8.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on Five Below from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Five Below in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Five Below from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Five Below from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $206.00 price target on shares of Five Below in a report on Monday, February 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $240.10.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ronald Sargent sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.28, for a total value of $2,312,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 83,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,352,122.72. The trade was a 10.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Kenneth R. Bull sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.14, for a total value of $2,341,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 92,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,665,208.34. This represents a 9.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Five Below

Five Below, Inc NASDAQ: FIVE is an American specialty discount retailer offering a broad assortment of merchandise priced primarily at $5 or below. Since its founding in 2002 by David Schlessinger and Tom Vellios, the company has pursued a value-focused retail model targeting tweens, teens and beyond, with stores designed to deliver trend-driven products at an accessible price point. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Five Below has grown into a national chain operating in dozens of U.S.

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