Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Reduces Stock Position in Five Below, Inc. $FIVE

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its Five Below stake by 26.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,536 shares and ending with 15,603 shares valued at about $2.94 million.
• Five Below reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.31 beating estimates and revenue of $1.73 billion topping forecasts; revenue also rose 24.3% year over year.
• Analysts have turned more positive on the stock, with several raising price targets and the consensus rating sitting at “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $240.60.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its holdings in shares of Five Below, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVE - Free Report) by 26.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,603 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 5,536 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in Five Below were worth $2,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FIVE. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Five Below by 397.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 819,502 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $126,777,000 after acquiring an additional 654,763 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Five Below by 149.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 848,105 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $131,202,000 after acquiring an additional 507,487 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Five Below by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,873,116 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $289,771,000 after acquiring an additional 332,615 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Five Below by 336.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 426,042 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $65,909,000 after acquiring an additional 328,365 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Five Below during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,054,000.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

FIVE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Five Below from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Five Below from $225.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on Five Below from $193.00 to $211.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Five Below from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $206.00 target price on shares of Five Below in a research report on Monday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $240.60.

Five Below Trading Down 0.1%

FIVE opened at $219.50 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.00. Five Below, Inc. has a 12 month low of $105.11 and a 12 month high of $251.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $225.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $200.80.

Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $4.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.00 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Five Below had a return on equity of 18.70% and a net margin of 7.53%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.48 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Five Below, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

Five Below Profile

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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