Sally Beauty (NYSE:SBH) Raised to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Sally Beauty was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating, with several other analysts also issuing positive ratings and increasing price targets for the stock.
• The company's recent earnings report revealed an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.51, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.42, despite a 1% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• Insider trading activity shows confidence in the company, with key executives purchasing shares, and institutional investor interest has spiked significantly, indicating a bullish outlook for Sally Beauty.

Sally Beauty (NYSE:SBH - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on SBH. Zacks Research upgraded Sally Beauty from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Sally Beauty in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Sally Beauty from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Sally Beauty from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $12.88.

Sally Beauty Price Performance

Shares of Sally Beauty stock opened at $14.98 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $12.02 and a 200 day moving average of $9.88. Sally Beauty has a 12 month low of $7.54 and a 12 month high of $15.31. The firm has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 8.05 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Sally Beauty (NYSE:SBH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.09. Sally Beauty had a return on equity of 28.11% and a net margin of 5.26%.The business had revenue of $933.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sally Beauty has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Sally Beauty will post 1.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Diana Sue Ferguson acquired 2,500 shares of Sally Beauty stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.02 per share, for a total transaction of $30,050.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 7,912 shares of the company's stock, valued at $95,102.24. This trade represents a 46.19% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Denise Paulonis acquired 4,500 shares of Sally Beauty stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.74 per share, for a total transaction of $52,830.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 366,865 shares in the company, valued at $4,306,995.10. This trade represents a 1.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 10,500 shares of company stock worth $132,125 in the last ninety days. 1.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sally Beauty

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Sally Beauty by 1,365.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,930 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 2,730 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Sally Beauty by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,735 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Sally Beauty during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Sally Beauty by 536.4% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,920 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 3,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Sally Beauty by 820.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter.

Sally Beauty Company Profile

Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc operates as a specialty retailer and distributor of professional beauty supplies. The company operates through two segments, Sally Beauty Supply and Beauty Systems Group. The Sally Beauty Supply segment offers beauty products, including hair color and care products, skin and nail care products, styling tools, and other beauty products for retail customers, salons, and salon professionals.

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