Federated Hermes Inc. Buys 144,220 Shares of e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. significantly increased its stake in e.l.f. Beauty by 2,527.5%, acquiring 144,220 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 149,926 shares worth $9.4 million.
• Several other institutional investors also increased their positions in e.l.f. Beauty, with 92.44% of the company's stock now owned by institutional shareholders.
• Analysts have raised their target price for e.l.f. Beauty, with Bank of America increasing it from $113.00 to $135.00 and multiple firms issuing "buy" ratings, indicating strong growth expectations.

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF - Free Report) by 2,527.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 149,926 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 144,220 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 0.27% of e.l.f. Beauty worth $9,414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of e.l.f. Beauty during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in e.l.f. Beauty in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in e.l.f. Beauty by 56.5% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 676 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in e.l.f. Beauty by 27.9% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 858 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in e.l.f. Beauty in the first quarter valued at approximately $69,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ELF. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective (up from $110.00) on shares of e.l.f. Beauty in a report on Friday, June 13th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $109.00 price objective (up previously from $81.00) on shares of e.l.f. Beauty in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on e.l.f. Beauty from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $115.00 target price on e.l.f. Beauty and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $113.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, e.l.f. Beauty presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $123.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other e.l.f. Beauty news, CEO Tarang Amin sold 24,533 shares of e.l.f. Beauty stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.56, for a total transaction of $2,835,033.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 188,991 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,839,799.96. The trade was a 11.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kory Marchisotto sold 11,860 shares of e.l.f. Beauty stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.56, for a total transaction of $1,370,541.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 159,799 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,466,372.44. This represents a 6.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 126,589 shares of company stock valued at $14,547,949 in the last ninety days. 3.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

e.l.f. Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ELF traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $116.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,355,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,762,009. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 3.05. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $117.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.42. e.l.f. Beauty has a fifty-two week low of $49.40 and a fifty-two week high of $190.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.84, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.57.

e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.06. e.l.f. Beauty had a net margin of 8.53% and a return on equity of 17.98%. The firm had revenue of $332.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $327.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that e.l.f. Beauty will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

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.