Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) Shares Up 1.3% Following Strong Earnings

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)’s share price shot up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $263.35 and last traded at $262.11. 565,638 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 2,079,356 shares. The stock had previously closed at $258.83.

The apparel retailer reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 16.09% and a return on equity of 42.64%. Lululemon Athletica’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.68 EPS.

Lululemon Athletica declared that its board has authorized a share 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on LULU. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $470.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $400.00 to $324.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lululemon Athletica has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $355.84.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lululemon Athletica

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 1.0% in the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 2,846 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 1,519 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $777,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC increased its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 5.1% during the first quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 699 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. William Allan Corp increased its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 0.8% during the first quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 4,896 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,913,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 50.7% during the fourth quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. 85.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lululemon Athletica Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $272.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $341.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.26.

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.