Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Increases Stock Position in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) by 12.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 763 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Lululemon Athletica were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LULU. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 600.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 49 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.20% of the company’s stock.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Down 5.2 %

NASDAQ LULU opened at $236.00 on Friday. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a 52 week low of $234.69 and a 52 week high of $516.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $294.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $370.05.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 5th. The apparel retailer reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 16.09% and a return on equity of 42.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.22 EPS for the current 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 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel retailer to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on LULU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $457.00 to $338.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $415.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Lululemon Athletica from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $415.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $475.00 to $385.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $400.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $406.68.

Lululemon Athletica 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.