e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $88.49, but opened at $66.30. e.l.f. Beauty shares last traded at $72.67, with a volume of 10,315,908 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.35). e.l.f. Beauty had a return on equity of 19.34% and a net margin of 8.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ELF shares. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (down previously from $158.00) on shares of e.l.f. Beauty in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on e.l.f. Beauty from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on e.l.f. Beauty from $240.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America decreased their price target on e.l.f. Beauty from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on e.l.f. Beauty from $154.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.24.

Insider Transactions at e.l.f. Beauty

In related news, Director Maureen C. Watson sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $102,050.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,888 shares in the company, valued at $245,440. The trade was a 29.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Tarang Amin sold 890 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.60, for a total value of $122,464.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 99,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,718,582.40. This trade represents a 0.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $297,442. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

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

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in e.l.f. Beauty in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of e.l.f. Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of e.l.f. Beauty in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Planning Capital Management Corp raised its stake in shares of e.l.f. Beauty by 1,855.0% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 391 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of e.l.f. Beauty during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

e.l.f. Beauty Trading Down 18.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a PE ratio of 38.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $123.67 and a 200 day moving average of $128.61.

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.