Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ:SCVL) Shares Gap Up After Dividend Announcement

Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCVL) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday after the company announced a dividend. The stock had previously closed at $18.39, but opened at $19.77. Shoe Carnival shares last traded at $18.6050, with a volume of 117,869 shares changing hands.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, January 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. Shoe Carnival’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SCVL shares. Zacks Research cut Shoe Carnival from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Shoe Carnival in a report on Monday, December 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Shoe Carnival from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Shoe Carnival from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Shoe Carnival Trading Up 1.9%

The company has a market cap of $513.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $18.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.04.

Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ:SCVL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.53. Shoe Carnival had a return on equity of 8.75% and a net margin of 5.06%.The firm had revenue of $297.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $295.25 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. Shoe Carnival’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Shoe Carnival has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.800-2.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Shoe Carnival, Inc. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Shoe Carnival declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, December 12th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Andrea R. Guthrie sold 2,477 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.20, for a total value of $50,035.40. Following the sale, the director directly owned 24,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $492,981. This represents a 9.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 35.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Shoe Carnival

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SCVL. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Shoe Carnival by 8.5% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 397,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,268,000 after acquiring an additional 31,024 shares during the period. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Shoe Carnival during the 3rd quarter worth about $282,000. Nokomis Capital L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Shoe Carnival by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nokomis Capital L.L.C. now owns 374,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,778,000 after purchasing an additional 43,000 shares during the last quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Shoe Carnival in the third quarter valued at about $3,813,000. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Shoe Carnival by 90.7% during the third quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 89,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,861,000 after buying an additional 42,578 shares during the last quarter. 66.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Shoe Carnival

Shoe Carnival, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a family footwear retailer in the United States. The company offers range of dress, casual, work, and athletic shoes, as well as sandals and boots for men, women, and children; and various accessories. The company also operates stores, and sells its products through online shopping at shoecarnival.com, as well as through mobile app.