Clearbridge Investments LLC Grows Holdings in e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF) by 84.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,259,644 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 576,383 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 2.25% of e.l.f. Beauty worth $265,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of e.l.f. Beauty by 56.9% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 71,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,258,000 after buying an additional 25,774 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in e.l.f. Beauty by 377.9% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $808,000 after purchasing an additional 4,425 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in e.l.f. Beauty by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 3,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in e.l.f. Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at $231,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in e.l.f. Beauty by 80.8% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 31,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,608,000 after purchasing an additional 14,193 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Tarang Amin sold 23,528 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.45, for a total transaction of $3,210,395.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,016 shares in the company, valued at $14,465,883.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Joshua Allen Franks sold 3,370 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.28, for a total value of $678,313.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 71,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,489,342.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Tarang Amin sold 23,528 shares of e.l.f. Beauty stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.45, for a total transaction of $3,210,395.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,016 shares in the company, valued at $14,465,883.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 42,832 shares of company stock valued at $7,074,887. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ELF. B. Riley assumed coverage on e.l.f. Beauty in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $175.00 target price for the company. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of e.l.f. Beauty in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $214.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $260.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of e.l.f. Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, e.l.f. Beauty presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.80.

e.l.f. Beauty Price Performance

Shares of ELF opened at $105.97 on Wednesday. e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. has a 52 week low of $88.47 and a 52 week high of $221.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.73, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $144.15 and a 200-day moving average of $169.62.

e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.20. e.l.f. Beauty had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 23.30%. The firm had revenue of $324.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $303.60 million. As a group, analysts forecast that e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

e.l.f. Beauty Company Profile

e.l.f. Beauty, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides cosmetic and skin care products under the e.l.f. Cosmetics, e.l.f. Skin, Well People, and Keys Soulcare brand names worldwide. The company offers eye, lip, face, face, paw, and skin care products. It sells its products through national and international retailers and direct-to-consumer channels, which include e-commerce platforms in the United States, and internationally primarily through distributors.