Two Sigma Advisers LP Buys 856,900 Shares of Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:SKX)

Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:SKX - Free Report) by 381.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,081,800 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 856,900 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned approximately 0.72% of Skechers U.S.A. worth $72,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Skechers U.S.A. in the 4th quarter worth $12,852,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in Skechers U.S.A. by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 177,343 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $12,010,000 after acquiring an additional 18,024 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in Skechers U.S.A. during the 4th quarter valued at $5,804,000. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC bought a new position in Skechers U.S.A. during the 4th quarter valued at $17,589,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Skechers U.S.A. by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 120,007 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $8,069,000 after acquiring an additional 15,874 shares in the last quarter. 79.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John M. Vandemore sold 5,112 shares of Skechers U.S.A. stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.76, for a total value of $310,605.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 83,328 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,063,009.28. This trade represents a 5.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Greenberg sold 40,924 shares of Skechers U.S.A. stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.76, for a total value of $2,486,542.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,119,539.92. This trade represents a 44.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 117,599 shares of company stock valued at $7,099,910. 24.78% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on SKX. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Skechers U.S.A. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen began coverage on Skechers U.S.A. in a research note on Thursday. They set a "sell" rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Skechers U.S.A. from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $63.00 price objective (up from $53.00) on shares of Skechers U.S.A. in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Skechers U.S.A. in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Skechers U.S.A. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $70.00.

Skechers U.S.A. Stock Performance

Shares of Skechers U.S.A. stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $61.91. 7,387,452 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,158,924. Skechers U.S.A., Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.50 and a 12-month high of $78.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.92, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Skechers U.S.A. (NYSE:SKX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The textile maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.17. Skechers U.S.A. had a return on equity of 13.73% and a net margin of 7.13%. The firm had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Skechers U.S.A., Inc. will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Skechers U.S.A.

Skechers U.SA, Inc designs, develops, markets, and distributes footwear for men, women, and children worldwide. The company operates through Wholesale and Direct-to-Consumer segments. It offers footwear under Skechers Hands Free Slip-ins, Skechers Arch Fit, and Skechers Air-Cooled Memory Foam brands.