Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) Earns Underperform Rating from Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group reissued their underperform rating on shares of Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $220.00 price target on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $425.00 to $350.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $475.00 to $385.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $550.00 to $470.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $521.00 to $463.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $430.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $416.26.

Lululemon Athletica Trading Up 2.5 %

LULU stock opened at $253.50 on Thursday. Lululemon Athletica has a 1-year low of $245.59 and a 1-year high of $516.39. The stock has a market cap of $31.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.26. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $300.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $376.57.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 5th. The apparel retailer reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 42.64% and a net margin of 16.09%. Lululemon Athletica’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.28 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Lululemon Athletica will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lululemon Athletica announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel retailer to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lululemon Athletica

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

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.