Zuckerman Investment Group LLC Increases Stake in lululemon athletica inc. $LULU

Key Points

• Zuckerman Investment Group increased its stake in lululemon by 68.3% in Q3 to 72,948 shares (about $12.98M), making the holding 1.2% of the fund and its 29th largest position.
• lululemon beat Q results (EPS $2.59 vs $2.22; revenue $2.57B, +7.1% YoY) but the stock trades near $157.78 (P/E 10.93) and the Wall Street consensus rating is a Hold with a $223.40 target.

Zuckerman Investment Group LLC increased its stake in lululemon athletica inc. (NASDAQ:LULU - Free Report) by 68.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 72,948 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 29,597 shares during the period. lululemon athletica makes up 1.2% of Zuckerman Investment Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC owned about 0.06% of lululemon athletica worth $12,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LULU. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in lululemon athletica by 81.9% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 151 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of lululemon athletica by 187.5% during the 3rd quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp now owns 161 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in lululemon athletica by 18,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 185 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its stake in lululemon athletica by 464.0% in the second quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 141 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of lululemon athletica by 129.4% in the 3rd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 195 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of lululemon athletica in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of lululemon athletica from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of lululemon athletica from $206.00 to $189.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of lululemon athletica from $180.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore upped their price objective on shares of lululemon athletica from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Friday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $223.40.

lululemon athletica Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ LULU opened at $157.78 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $184.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.53. The company has a market capitalization of $18.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93, a PEG ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 1.00. lululemon athletica inc. has a 1-year low of $156.64 and a 1-year high of $348.50.

lululemon athletica (NASDAQ:LULU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The apparel retailer reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.48 billion. lululemon athletica had a return on equity of 39.78% and a net margin of 15.72%.lululemon athletica's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.53 EPS. On average, analysts predict that lululemon athletica inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting lululemon athletica

Here are the key news stories impacting lululemon athletica this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Product and brand strength highlighted in lifestyle coverage supports demand resilience for lululemon’s core apparel and technical leggings, reinforcing the company’s premium positioning. I work out daily—Lululemon, Brooks, Vuori and more keep me cool and comfortable while in motion
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage that includes LULU among “cash-producing” stocks underscores the company’s ability to generate cash, a plus for flexibility on buybacks, investment or weathering slower comps. 3 Cash-Producing Stocks to Research Further
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly outlook and estimate roundups (Wall Street metrics for Q4/FY) provide detail investors will watch for signs of margin recovery, wholesale trends and Outerknown/men’s/growth initiatives; these are informational but could move the stock when compared to company guidance. Unveiling Lululemon (LULU) Q4 Outlook: Wall Street Estimates for Key Metrics
• Negative Sentiment: Founder Chip Wilson publicly urged CEO candidates to beware an “unfit” board and called for board refreshment, escalating governance concerns during the CEO search; as a large shareholder, his comments raise investor uncertainty about leadership, strategy continuity and potential proxy tensions. Chip Wilson to lululemon CEO Candidates: Beware a Board Unfit to Support Visionary Leadership
• Negative Sentiment: Telsey Advisory Group assigned a Market Perform rating, which signals tepid near-term expectations from a sell-side perspective and can weigh on sentiment until clearer evidence of top-line acceleration or margin improvement appears. lululemon athletica NASDAQ: LULU Earns Market Perform Rating from Telsey Advisory Group

Insider Transactions at lululemon athletica

In other lululemon athletica news, insider Celeste Burgoyne sold 13,511 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total transaction of $2,756,244.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,318 shares in the company, valued at $1,084,872. This represents a 71.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About lululemon athletica

lululemon athletica inc. is a design-focused athletic apparel company known for performance-oriented apparel, footwear and accessories. The company's product portfolio centers on technical apparel for yoga, running, training and everyday active lifestyle use and includes tops, bottoms, outerwear, underwear, bags and a growing footwear assortment. lululemon emphasizes fabric science and product innovation, marketing garments that blend performance features with lifestyle styling.

Products are developed in-house and produced through a network of third-party manufacturers.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.