Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $38.66 Million Stock Position in Burlington Stores, Inc. $BURL

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group trimmed its Burlington Stores stake by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, but still held 133,835 shares worth about $38.66 million at quarter end.
• Several other large investors also adjusted their positions, with firms like Junto Capital, Vanguard, Wellington, Samlyn, and Alkeon all increasing holdings in Burlington Stores.
• Analysts remain generally positive on the stock: Burlington has a Moderate Buy consensus rating and a consensus price target of $355.44, while the company also recently reported earnings and revenue that beat expectations.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL - Free Report) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 133,835 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,458 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.21% of Burlington Stores worth $38,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BURL. Junto Capital Management LP boosted its position in Burlington Stores by 168.4% in the third quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 503,080 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,034,000 after buying an additional 315,664 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Burlington Stores by 3.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,782,201 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,726,070,000 after buying an additional 232,358 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Burlington Stores by 536.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 269,633 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,622,000 after buying an additional 227,254 shares in the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC boosted its position in Burlington Stores by 68.0% in the third quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 555,717 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,430,000 after buying an additional 224,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Burlington Stores by 50.0% in the third quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 525,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $133,612,000 after buying an additional 175,000 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Travis Marquette sold 3,759 shares of Burlington Stores stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.75, for a total transaction of $1,232,012.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 26,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,636,212.50. This trade represents a 12.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Burlington Stores from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Burlington Stores in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Burlington Stores from $351.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Burlington Stores in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Burlington Stores from $356.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $355.44.

Burlington Stores Price Performance

BURL stock opened at $304.74 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $319.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $297.84. The company has a market capitalization of $19.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.01, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.48. Burlington Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $218.52 and a 52-week high of $351.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $4.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.29. Burlington Stores had a net margin of 5.28% and a return on equity of 41.37%. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.07 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Burlington Stores has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.950-11.450 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.600-1.750 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Burlington Stores, Inc. will post 11.27 EPS for the current year.

Burlington Stores Company Profile

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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