e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF) Trading 7.1% Higher – Time to Buy?

e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF) shares shot up 7.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $76.15 and last traded at $76.19. 1,200,614 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 3,226,914 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on ELF. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of e.l.f. Beauty in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $220.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target (down previously from $150.00) on shares of e.l.f. Beauty in a report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $142.00 to $124.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (down previously from $153.00) on shares of e.l.f. Beauty in a report on Friday, February 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, e.l.f. Beauty has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.94.

e.l.f. Beauty Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of 44.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 1.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $110.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.35). e.l.f. Beauty had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 7.55%. As a group, equities analysts expect that e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at e.l.f. Beauty

In other news, insider Scott Milsten sold 530 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.60, for a total transaction of $72,928.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 68,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,474,172.80. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Tarang Amin sold 890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.60, for a total transaction of $122,464.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 99,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,718,582.40. The trade was a 0.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $297,442 over the last 90 days. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of e.l.f. Beauty during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of e.l.f. Beauty during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in e.l.f. Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in e.l.f. Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in e.l.f. Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

e.l.f. Beauty Company Profile

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.