Burlington Stores: A 69% Gain Over Three Years, but Market Return Falls Short

Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) has delivered a 69% gain over three years, surpassing the market return of 46%. However, the returns have not been as strong recently, with a 10% gain over the past year. The company's earnings per share (EPS) grew at 30% per year, but the share price only increased by 19% annually. This suggests that the market has cooled on the stock.

Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) has seen a mixed performance over the past year, with a 10% gain in stock price, despite a 30% annual growth in earnings per share (EPS). The company's three-year return of 69% has surpassed the market's 46% return, but recent gains have slowed [1].

The latest quarterly results show that Burlington Stores reported $2.50 billion in revenue, up 6% year-on-year, although this fell short of analysts' expectations by 0.9% [2]. The company's EPS guidance for the next quarter also missed analysts' expectations significantly. This slower performance has led to a cooling in the stock's market appeal, with the share price up 19.9% since the latest earnings results, despite the company's strong earnings growth.

Institutional investors have also shown mixed sentiment towards the company. Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its holdings in Burlington Stores by 75.1% in the first quarter, selling 66,716 shares [1]. However, other institutional investors have increased their stakes, with Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC and Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC growing their holdings by 14.2% and 3.0%, respectively [1]. The overall institutional ownership of Burlington Stores stands at 1.10% [1].

Analysts have given Burlington Stores a mixed rating, with fourteen analysts rating it as a buy and one analyst rating it as a hold. The average rating is "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $317.57 [1]. Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo & Company, and UBS Group have all recently revised their price targets downward, while Goldman Sachs and Evercore ISI have maintained their "buy" ratings [1].

Despite the mixed performance and sentiment, Burlington Stores has shown resilience in the face of secular headwinds such as online shopping and challenged retail foot traffic. The company's unique purchasing and pricing strategies allow it to provide excellent value to shoppers, driving its growth in revenue and EPS.

References:
[1] https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/filing-federated-hermes-inc-cuts-position-in-burlington-stores-inc-nyseburl-2025-08-04/
[2] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/q1-earnings-outperformers-burlington-nyse-033158319.html