Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) Rating Lowered to Underperform at Jefferies Financial Group

Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $32.00 price objective on the apparel retailer’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $42.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price suggests a potential downside of 13.56% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on URBN. StockNews.com lowered Urban Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on Urban Outfitters from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Urban Outfitters from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on Urban Outfitters from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Urban Outfitters from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.67.

Urban Outfitters Price Performance

Shares of URBN stock opened at $37.02 on Wednesday. Urban Outfitters has a 12-month low of $25.52 and a 12-month high of $47.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.05.

Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The apparel retailer reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.04). Urban Outfitters had a return on equity of 15.32% and a net margin of 5.58%. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Urban Outfitters will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Azeez Hayne sold 2,878 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.75, for a total value of $117,278.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,878 shares in the company, valued at $117,278.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Azeez Hayne sold 2,878 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.75, for a total value of $117,278.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,878 shares in the company, valued at $117,278.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Tricia D. Smith sold 6,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.74, for a total value of $254,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,821.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,473 shares of company stock worth $757,483. Insiders own 31.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Urban Outfitters

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Urban Outfitters by 0.7% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 42,714 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,415,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in Urban Outfitters by 6.7% during the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 5,274 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $175,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in Urban Outfitters by 3.7% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 10,314 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Urban Outfitters by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,374 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Urban Outfitters by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 882 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. 77.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters, Inc engages in the retail and wholesale of general consumer products. The company operates through three segments: Retail, Wholesale, and Nully. It operates Urban Outfitters stores, which offer women's and men's fashion apparel, activewear, intimates, footwear, accessories, home goods, electronics, and beauty products for young adults aged 18 to 28; and Anthropologie stores that provide women's apparel, accessories, intimates, shoes, and home furnishings, as well as gifts, decorative items, and beauty and wellness products for women aged 28 to 45.