Vista Outdoor Inc. (NYSE:VSTO) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Vista Outdoor Inc. (NYSE:VSTO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,230,000 shares, a drop of 24.1% from the March 15th total of 1,620,000 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 510,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VSTO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Vista Outdoor in a research note on Saturday. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on Vista Outdoor from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Roth Capital upgraded Vista Outdoor from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Roth Mkm upgraded Vista Outdoor from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.67.

Vista Outdoor Price Performance

Shares of VSTO traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $32.88. The stock had a trading volume of 629,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 511,149. Vista Outdoor has a 52 week low of $23.33 and a 52 week high of $33.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $31.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.30. The company has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.50 and a beta of 0.96.

Vista Outdoor (NYSE:VSTO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $682.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.85 million. Vista Outdoor had a positive return on equity of 20.00% and a negative net margin of 12.17%. On average, analysts forecast that Vista Outdoor will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vista Outdoor

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Vista Outdoor during the first quarter valued at $31,979,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vista Outdoor by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,980,595 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,136,000 after buying an additional 1,086,671 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vista Outdoor by 45.5% during the third quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC now owns 2,703,561 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,542,000 after buying an additional 844,865 shares in the last quarter. Black Diamond Capital Management L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Vista Outdoor by 149.9% during the fourth quarter. Black Diamond Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 695,303 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,560,000 after buying an additional 417,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Vista Outdoor during the fourth quarter valued at $9,884,000. 90.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vista Outdoor Company Profile

Vista Outdoor Inc designs, manufactures, and markets outdoor recreation and shooting sports products. in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Sporting Products and Outdoor Products. The Sporting Products segment designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes ammunitions, components, and related equipment and accessories for hunters, recreational shooters, federal and local law enforcement agencies, and military.