Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE) from a "buy" to a "hold" in a research report issued Saturday.
• Despite the downgrade, the stock carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $240.10, and several major firms (UBS, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan) recently raised their price targets.
• Five Below reported a strong quarter on March 18—EPS $4.31 vs. $4.00 expected and revenue $1.73B (up 24.3%)—while insiders (COO and a director) each sold 10,000 shares, leaving insiders with 1.90% ownership.

Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

FIVE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Five Below from $255.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. William Blair raised Five Below from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Five Below from $247.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Five Below from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Five Below from $259.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $240.10.

Five Below Price Performance

Shares of FIVE stock opened at $230.52 on Friday. Five Below has a 1-year low of $79.48 and a 1-year high of $251.63. The stock's 50-day moving average is $226.10 and its 200 day moving average is $194.39. The company has a market cap of $12.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.68, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.07.

Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $4.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.00 by $0.31. Five Below had a return on equity of 18.70% and a net margin of 7.53%.The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.48 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Five Below will post 8.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Five Below

In other Five Below news, COO Kenneth R. Bull sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.14, for a total value of $2,341,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 92,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,665,208.34. This trade represents a 9.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ronald Sargent sold 10,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 83,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,352,122.72. This trade represents a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Five Below

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FIVE. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Five Below by 40,774,210.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 55,453,062 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $10,445,139,000 after purchasing an additional 55,452,926 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Five Below during the fourth quarter worth about $182,786,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Five Below by 176.0% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,168,832 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $220,161,000 after purchasing an additional 745,272 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Five Below by 397.5% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 819,502 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $126,777,000 after purchasing an additional 654,763 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Five Below by 54.6% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,785,169 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $336,254,000 after purchasing an additional 630,710 shares during the period.

Five Below Company 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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