Superior Group of Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGC) Short Interest Down 25.8% in March

Superior Group of Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGC) was the target of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 88,000 shares, a drop of 25.8% from the March 15th total of 118,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 66,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Superior Group of Companies Trading Down 4.1 %

Superior Group of Companies stock traded down $0.67 during trading on Friday, hitting $15.84. The company had a trading volume of 36,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 76,492. Superior Group of Companies has a 1-year low of $7.16 and a 1-year high of $17.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.70. The stock has a market cap of $264.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.40.

Superior Group of Companies (NASDAQ:SGC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The textile maker reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.08. Superior Group of Companies had a net margin of 1.61% and a return on equity of 4.51%. The firm had revenue of $147.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.59 million. As a group, analysts expect that Superior Group of Companies will post 0.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Superior Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. Superior Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Superior Group of Companies news, Director Paul V. Mellini sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.66, for a total value of $93,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 92,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,455,675.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Superior Group of Companies news, Director Paul V. Mellini sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.66, for a total value of $93,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 92,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,455,675.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Philip Koosed sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.64, for a total transaction of $140,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 82,436 shares in the company, valued at $1,289,299.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 27.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Superior Group of Companies

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SGC. Aegis Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Superior Group of Companies by 63.7% in the third quarter. Aegis Financial Corp now owns 380,287 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,959,000 after acquiring an additional 147,929 shares in the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. grew its stake in shares of Superior Group of Companies by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 390,775 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $5,275,000 after purchasing an additional 103,920 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Superior Group of Companies by 396.4% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 105,600 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $831,000 after purchasing an additional 84,325 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Superior Group of Companies during the first quarter worth $1,262,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Superior Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth $676,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SGC has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Superior Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Singular Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Superior Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Barrington Research lifted their target price on shares of Superior Group of Companies from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th.

Superior Group of Companies Company Profile

Superior Group of Companies, Inc manufactures and sells apparel and accessories in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Branded Products, Healthcare Apparel, and Contact Centers. The Branded Products segment produces and sells customized merchandising solutions, promotional products, and branded uniform to chain retailer, food service, entertainment, technology, transportation, and other industries under BAMKO and HPI brands.