Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-one research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $354.94.

LULU has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $415.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Citigroup cut their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $416.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $350.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $420.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lululemon Athletica

In other Lululemon Athletica news, CEO Calvin Mcdonald bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $260.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,040,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 89,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,379,720. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LULU. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Lululemon Athletica in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 2,950.0% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 61 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 176.0% during the 1st quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 69 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. 85.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Performance

LULU stock opened at $280.01 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $35.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.45, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $257.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $310.64. Lululemon Athletica has a 52-week low of $226.01 and a 52-week high of $516.39.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The apparel retailer reported $3.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.22. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 42.59% and a net margin of 16.34%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lululemon Athletica will post 14.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lululemon Athletica declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 5th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel retailer to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.