e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF) Short Interest Down 12.8% in January

e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,770,000 shares, a drop of 12.8% from the January 15th total of 6,620,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,820,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

e.l.f. Beauty Trading Down 2.6 %

e.l.f. Beauty stock traded down $1.98 during trading on Friday, reaching $72.97. The company had a trading volume of 3,049,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,417,069. e.l.f. Beauty has a 12-month low of $63.50 and a 12-month high of $221.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $116.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.18, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.78.

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 net margin of 7.55% and a return on equity of 17.35%. As a group, equities analysts expect that e.l.f. Beauty will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ELF shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of e.l.f. Beauty in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $133.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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 report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $175.00 to $120.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $240.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.00.

Insider Activity at e.l.f. Beauty

In related news, insider Scott Milsten sold 530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.60, for a total value of $72,928.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 68,853 shares in the company, valued at $9,474,172.80. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Maureen C. Watson sold 785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $102,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $245,440. This trade represents a 29.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,205 shares of company stock worth $297,442 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On e.l.f. Beauty

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in e.l.f. Beauty during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new stake in e.l.f. Beauty during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in e.l.f. Beauty during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in e.l.f. Beauty during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp grew its stake in e.l.f. Beauty by 1,855.0% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 391 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.