Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ:CROX) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ:CROX) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 6,710,000 shares, a growth of 16.3% from the February 13th total of 5,770,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,560,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days. Approximately 12.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CROX has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Crocs from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Bank of America raised their target price on Crocs from $144.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Crocs from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered their price target on Crocs from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Crocs from $122.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Crocs presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.53.

Crocs Trading Down 1.4 %

Crocs stock opened at $105.48 on Friday. Crocs has a one year low of $88.25 and a one year high of $165.32. The company has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $102.24 and a 200-day moving average of $114.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

Crocs (NASDAQ:CROX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The textile maker reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.25. Crocs had a net margin of 23.16% and a return on equity of 46.27%. On average, equities analysts expect that Crocs will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Crocs

In other Crocs news, EVP Adam Michaels sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.69, for a total transaction of $1,600,350.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 89,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,529,870.87. This trade represents a 14.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Shannon Sisler sold 4,659 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.75, for a total value of $511,325.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,215,565.25. This represents a 13.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Crocs by 362.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 38,063 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $4,169,000 after buying an additional 29,839 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Crocs in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,385,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Crocs in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $419,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Crocs in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Crocs by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,100 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $887,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Crocs

Crocs, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells casual lifestyle footwear and accessories for men, women, and children under Crocs and HEYDUDE Brand in the United States and internationally. The company offers various footwear products, including clogs, sandals, slides, flips, wedges, platforms, socks, boots, charms, flip flops, sneakers, and slippers.