e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF) Shares Climb 5.4% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• e.l.f. Beauty shares rose 5.4% on Friday, closing near $119.61; trading volume was about 45% below its average.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.21, beating the $0.60 consensus, while revenue of $520.82 million topped estimates and increased 51.4% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $118.88; several firms recently raised their targets, including Canaccord to $137.

Shares of e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF - Get Free Report) rose 5.4% on Friday. The company traded as high as $119.71 and last traded at $119.6060. Approximately 1,352,900 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 2,444,378 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.53.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ELF has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $103.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on e.l.f. Beauty from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on e.l.f. Beauty from $123.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of e.l.f. Beauty in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of e.l.f. Beauty in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $118.88.

e.l.f. Beauty Stock Up 4.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.57. The business's 50 day moving average price is $107.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.69. The firm has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.54, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.61.

e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.61. e.l.f. Beauty had a net margin of 4.47% and a return on equity of 16.40%. The firm had revenue of $520.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $473.51 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. e.l.f. Beauty's quarterly revenue was up 51.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that e.l.f. Beauty will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at e.l.f. Beauty

In other news, SVP Joshua Franks sold 7,926 shares of e.l.f. Beauty stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.15, for a total transaction of $873,048.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 119,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,108,400.75. The trade was a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lauren Levitan sold 1,034 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.15, for a total transaction of $96,317.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,516 shares in the company, valued at $979,565.40. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 91,821 shares of company stock valued at $9,624,513 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

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

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of e.l.f. Beauty during the 2nd quarter worth about $428,262,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of e.l.f. Beauty by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,882,394 shares of the company's stock worth $190,065,000 after purchasing an additional 7,397 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new stake in shares of e.l.f. Beauty during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $78,202,000. Prime Capital Management Co Ltd acquired a new stake in e.l.f. Beauty during the second quarter worth about $44,736,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in e.l.f. Beauty by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 299,742 shares of the company's stock worth $30,265,000 after buying an additional 16,055 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

e.l.f. Beauty Company Profile

e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. is a beauty company that develops, markets and sells cosmetics and skin-care products. Its portfolio includes e.l.f. Cosmetics and e.l.f. SKIN, as well as brands such as Naturium, Well People and Keys Soulcare. Products include makeup, skin-care treatments and related beauty items. Founded in 2004, the company sells through its own websites and retail partners, including mass-market and specialty beauty stores. Its products are available in the United States and international markets.

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