Coty's (COTY) Sell (D) Rating Reaffirmed at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Coty's stock received a reaffirmed "sell (d)" rating from Weiss Ratings, amid a generally cautious sentiment from other research firms, which have also lowered their price targets.
• Despite a temporary 6.2% increase in stock value, Coty reported a negative earnings per share of ($0.05) for the last quarter, missing expectations and showing a year-over-year revenue decline of 8.1%.
• Insider trading activity increased, with key executives acquiring shares, signifying some level of confidence despite the company's recent struggles and mixed analyst ratings.

Coty (NYSE:COTY - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d)" rating reiterated by Weiss Ratings in a report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on COTY. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $4.25 price objective (down previously from $6.50) on shares of Coty in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Coty from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Coty from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $6.00 to $4.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Coty from $4.00 to $3.50 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Coty from $5.00 to $4.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $6.06.

Coty Stock Up 6.2%

COTY stock traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $4.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,921,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,041,107. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.80, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.98. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.77. Coty has a 52-week low of $3.67 and a 52-week high of $9.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Coty (NYSE:COTY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.01 by ($0.06). Coty had a negative net margin of 6.24% and a positive return on equity of 5.18%. The company had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.03) earnings per share. Coty's revenue was down 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Coty will post 0.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Coty news, insider Kristin Blazewicz bought 29,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.30 per share, with a total value of $126,420.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 829,142 shares in the company, valued at $3,565,310.60. The trade was a 3.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Laurent Mercier acquired 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $3.96 per share, with a total value of $49,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 402,216 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,592,775.36. This trade represents a 3.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 334,900 shares of company stock worth $1,321,840 in the last ninety days. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coty

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COTY. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Coty by 140.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,506 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 3,214 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Coty by 137.1% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 6,851 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3,962 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Coty by 1,006.7% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 7,304 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 6,644 shares during the last quarter. Shay Capital LLC bought a new stake in Coty in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in Coty in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.36% of the company's stock.

About Coty

Coty Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells beauty products worldwide. It operates through Prestige and Consumer Beauty segments. The company provides fragrance, color cosmetics, and skin and body care products. It offers Prestige segment products primarily through prestige retailers, including perfumeries, department stores, e-retailers, direct-to-consumer websites, and duty-free shops under the Burberry, Calvin Klein, Chloe, Davidoff, Escada, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Jil Sander, Joop!, Kylie Jenner, Lancaster, Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu, Orveda, philosophy, SKKN BY KIM, and Tiffany & Co brands.

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