Morgan Stanley Reaffirms Equal Weight Rating for Skechers U.S.A. (NYSE:SKX)

Morgan Stanley reaffirmed their equal weight rating on shares of Skechers U.S.A. (NYSE:SKX - Free Report) in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $63.00 price objective on the textile maker's stock, down from their previous price objective of $73.00.

SKX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen increased their price target on Skechers U.S.A. from $88.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Skechers U.S.A. from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Skechers U.S.A. from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Skechers U.S.A. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Skechers U.S.A. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $70.00.

Skechers U.S.A. Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of SKX stock traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $62.21. The company had a trading volume of 8,816,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,943,101. The company has a market capitalization of $9.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.06. Skechers U.S.A. has a twelve month low of $44.50 and a twelve month high of $78.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.97. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $53.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.07.

Skechers U.S.A. (NYSE:SKX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The textile maker reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Skechers U.S.A. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert Greenberg sold 52,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.72, for a total transaction of $3,299,072.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,367 shares in the company, valued at $3,848,938.24. This trade represents a 46.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Phillip Paccione sold 10,994 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.63, for a total transaction of $622,590.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $849,450. This represents a 42.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 218,245 shares of company stock worth $13,452,902. 24.78% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Skechers U.S.A. in the 4th quarter valued at about $12,852,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in Skechers U.S.A. by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 177,343 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $12,010,000 after buying an additional 18,024 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 120,007 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $8,069,000 after purchasing an additional 15,874 shares in the last quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC acquired a new position in Skechers U.S.A. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,589,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new stake in shares of Skechers U.S.A. during the fourth quarter worth $2,752,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.96% of the company's stock.

Skechers U.S.A. Company Profile

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.