Vista Outdoor Inc. (NYSE:VSTO) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Vista Outdoor Inc. (NYSE:VSTO) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,280,000 shares, an increase of 23.9% from the October 31st total of 1,840,000 shares. Approximately 4.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 719,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vista Outdoor by 1.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,982,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,325,000 after purchasing an additional 54,189 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Vista Outdoor by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,180,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,448,000 after buying an additional 35,003 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vista Outdoor by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,355,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,135,000 after purchasing an additional 17,621 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vista Outdoor by 19.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,352,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,932,000 after acquiring an additional 218,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vista Outdoor in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,842,000. 90.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VSTO shares. Roth Mkm cut shares of Vista Outdoor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $42.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. B. Riley lowered Vista Outdoor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $43.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of Vista Outdoor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Vista Outdoor in a report on Sunday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Aegis downgraded Vista Outdoor from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vista Outdoor currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.20.

Vista Outdoor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VSTO remained flat at $44.63 during mid-day trading on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $43.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -247.94 and a beta of 0.79. Vista Outdoor has a 12-month low of $26.05 and a 12-month high of $44.72.

Vista Outdoor (NYSE:VSTO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.11. Vista Outdoor had a negative net margin of 0.34% and a positive return on equity of 19.53%. The company had revenue of $665.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $666.72 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Vista Outdoor will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vista Outdoor Company Profile

Vista Outdoor Inc designs, manufactures, and markets outdoor recreation and shooting sports products. in the United States and internationally. The Kinetic Group segment designs, develops, distributes, and manufactures ammunition, primers, and components for hunters, recreational shooters, federal and local law enforcement agencies, and the military.