Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) Sets New 12-Month Low at $236.83

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $236.83 and last traded at $238.82, with a volume of 265072 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $249.05.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on LULU shares. TD Securities decreased their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $515.00 to $437.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Lululemon Athletica from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $415.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $410.00 to $416.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. HSBC raised shares of Lululemon Athletica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $405.00 to $425.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $470.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $406.68.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $29.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.26. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $295.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $371.74.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 5th. The apparel retailer reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.16. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 16.09% and a return on equity of 42.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lululemon Athletica announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program 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 programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,114,000. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 202.8% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 5,622 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,874,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,261 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,250,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.20% of the company’s stock.

About Lululemon Athletica

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.