Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) Stock Rating Lowered by Citigroup

Citigroup cut shares of Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $300.00 target price on the apparel retailer’s stock, down from their prior target price of $415.00.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. TD Securities lowered their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $515.00 to $437.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $525.00 to $470.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Oppenheimer reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $445.00 price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Lululemon Athletica in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. They set a buy rating and a $425.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $550.00 to $470.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $416.26.

Lululemon Athletica Price Performance

Shares of LULU opened at $253.50 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.33, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.26. Lululemon Athletica has a one year low of $245.59 and a one year high of $516.39. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $300.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $377.32.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 5th. The apparel retailer reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 42.64% and a net margin of 16.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lululemon Athletica will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lululemon Athletica declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lululemon Athletica

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LULU. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the fourth quarter worth $1,114,000. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 202.8% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $670,000 after buying an additional 1,148 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 5,622 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,874,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,386,000 after buying an additional 805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,261 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,250,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the period. 85.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lululemon Athletica Company Profile

Lululemon Athletica Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, distributes, and retails athletic apparel, footwear, and accessories under the lululemon brand for women and men. It offers pants, shorts, tops, and jackets for healthy lifestyle, such as yoga, running, training, and other activities. It also provides fitness-inspired accessories.