Caleres, Inc. (NYSE:CAL) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Caleres, Inc. (NYSE:CAL - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,620,000 shares, a growth of 9.5% from the February 29th total of 4,220,000 shares. Approximately 13.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 382,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 12.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caleres news, insider Willis Hill sold 1,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.07, for a total value of $49,615.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 59,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,780,564.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Caleres news, CEO John W. Schmidt sold 25,332 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.71, for a total value of $980,601.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 335,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,993,514.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Willis Hill sold 1,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.07, for a total value of $49,615.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 59,214 shares in the company, valued at $1,780,564.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,318 shares of company stock valued at $1,834,002. Corporate insiders own 4.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caleres

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Caleres by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 445,331 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $8,608,000 after purchasing an additional 3,167 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Caleres by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 36,560 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $706,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Caleres in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $535,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caleres by 53.3% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 20,589 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 7,161 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Caleres by 6.9% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 42,925 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $830,000 after buying an additional 2,776 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Loop Capital increased their price objective on Caleres from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Caleres from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on Caleres in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. They set a "sector weight" rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $40.00.

Caleres Stock Performance

CAL traded down $0.21 on Wednesday, hitting $38.04. 378,361 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 397,804. Caleres has a 12 month low of $16.85 and a 12 month high of $41.94. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 7.91 and a beta of 1.99.

Caleres (NYSE:CAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 19th. The textile maker reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.86. Caleres had a return on equity of 29.77% and a net margin of 6.10%. The business had revenue of $697.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $694.32 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. The business's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Caleres will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Caleres Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Caleres's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.82%.

About Caleres

Caleres, Inc engages in the retail and wholesale of footwear business in the United States, Canada, Eastern Asia, and internationally. It operates through Famous Footwear and Brand Portfolio segments. The company offers licensed, branded, and private-label athletic, casual, and dress footwear products.