e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $90.50, but opened at $108.87. e.l.f. Beauty shares last traded at $116.68, with a volume of 3,568,887 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.06. e.l.f. Beauty had a net margin of 7.55% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The firm had revenue of $332.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $327.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price target (down from $150.00) on shares of e.l.f. Beauty in a research report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $142.00 to $124.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, e.l.f. Beauty has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $117.76.

Insider Activity at e.l.f. Beauty

In related news, Director Maureen C. Watson sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.39, for a total value of $269,560.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $127,232.32. This represents a 67.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Catherine Hartnett sold 18,383 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.99, for a total transaction of $2,021,946.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 54,163 shares in the company, valued at $5,957,388.37. This trade represents a 25.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 223,001 shares of company stock worth $12,996,483. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On e.l.f. Beauty

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its stake in e.l.f. Beauty by 51.0% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 8,009,434 shares of the company's stock worth $1,005,584,000 after buying an additional 2,703,742 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in e.l.f. Beauty by 99.7% during the fourth quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,226,451 shares of the company's stock worth $279,531,000 after buying an additional 1,111,550 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in e.l.f. Beauty by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,305,349 shares of the company's stock worth $289,437,000 after buying an additional 669,321 shares in the last quarter. Aspex Management HK Ltd acquired a new stake in e.l.f. Beauty during the fourth quarter worth about $73,576,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in e.l.f. Beauty during the fourth quarter worth about $68,775,000. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

e.l.f. Beauty Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.63, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $67.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.87.

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.