Empire Life Investments Inc. Invests $1.68 Million in Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:SKX)

Empire Life Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:SKX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 24,966 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,679,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 5,780.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,639,390 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $176,628,000 after purchasing an additional 2,594,507 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Skechers U.S.A. by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,216,905 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $148,395,000 after purchasing an additional 11,026 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Skechers U.S.A. by 1.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,316,882 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $88,126,000 after acquiring an additional 17,429 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Skechers U.S.A. by 39.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,025,556 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $68,630,000 after acquiring an additional 287,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in Skechers U.S.A. by 7.1% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 752,067 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $50,328,000 after acquiring an additional 49,734 shares during the last quarter. 79.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Skechers U.S.A. from $72.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Skechers U.S.A. from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Skechers U.S.A. from $88.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Skechers U.S.A. from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Skechers U.S.A. from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Skechers U.S.A. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.25.

Insider Activity at Skechers U.S.A.

In related news, COO David Weinberg sold 8,219 shares of Skechers U.S.A. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.48, for a total transaction of $554,618.12. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 122,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,246,798.28. The trade was a 6.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Michael Greenberg sold 10,274 shares of Skechers U.S.A. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.48, for a total transaction of $693,289.52. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 149,327 shares in the company, valued at $10,076,585.96. This trade represents a 6.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 107,093 shares of company stock worth $6,804,900. 24.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Skechers U.S.A. Stock Performance

NYSE:SKX opened at $63.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.42, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.46. Skechers U.S.A., Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.67 and a twelve month high of $78.85.

Skechers U.S.A. (NYSE:SKX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.08). Skechers U.S.A. had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 13.81%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Skechers U.S.A., Inc. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Skechers U.S.A.

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.