e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• e.l.f. Beauty has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from 15 research firms, with an average 1-year price target set at $133.40.
• In its recent quarterly earnings, e.l.f. Beauty reported an EPS of $0.89, exceeding expectations and marking a 9.0% year-over-year revenue increase at $353.74 million.
• Insider transactions have shown notable activity, with insiders selling a total of 184,745 shares valued at approximately $25.6 million over the past three months.

Shares of e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $133.40.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ELF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on e.l.f. Beauty from $132.00 to $130.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $155.00 price objective (up from $140.00) on shares of e.l.f. Beauty in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on e.l.f. Beauty from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on e.l.f. Beauty from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded e.l.f. Beauty from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $114.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday, August 11th.

e.l.f. Beauty Stock Performance

e.l.f. Beauty stock opened at $130.64 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $124.53 and a 200-day moving average of $99.27. e.l.f. Beauty has a 52 week low of $49.40 and a 52 week high of $150.99. The stock has a market cap of $7.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 3.26, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.05. e.l.f. Beauty had a return on equity of 16.36% and a net margin of 7.29%.The firm had revenue of $353.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $348.99 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that e.l.f. Beauty will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at e.l.f. Beauty

In other e.l.f. Beauty news, insider Jennifer Catherine Hartnett sold 1,304 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.32, for a total value of $177,761.28. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 52,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,170,295.68. This trade represents a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Mandy J. Fields sold 5,298 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.21, for a total value of $795,812.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 58,856 shares in the company, valued at $8,840,759.76. This represents a 8.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 184,745 shares of company stock valued at $25,613,238 over the last three months. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On e.l.f. Beauty

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in e.l.f. Beauty by 0.6% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 15,900 shares of the company's stock worth $1,979,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in e.l.f. Beauty by 2.4% in the second quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,327 shares of the company's stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in e.l.f. Beauty by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 13,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,692,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in e.l.f. Beauty by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 993 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in e.l.f. Beauty by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 317 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About e.l.f. Beauty

e.l.f. Beauty, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of inclusive, accessible, clean, vegan and cruelty free cosmetics and skin care products. The company focuses on the e-commerce, national retailers and international business channels. Its brands include elf, elf skin, WELL People and KEYS soulcare.

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