Ground Swell Capital LLC Invests $576,000 in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,929 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $576,000. Lululemon Athletica comprises about 0.4% of Ground Swell Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 2,846 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its position in Lululemon Athletica by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 1,519 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $777,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 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 buying an additional 34 shares during the period. William Allan Corp raised its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 0.8% in the first quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 4,896 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,913,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 50.7% in 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 last quarter. 85.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lululemon Athletica news, CEO Calvin Mcdonald acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $260.00 per share, with a total value of $1,040,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 89,922 shares in the company, valued at $23,379,720. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LULU has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $525.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. HSBC raised Lululemon Athletica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $405.00 to $425.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Wedbush decreased their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $400.00 to $324.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $350.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 2nd. Two investment 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 a consensus price target of $354.94.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ LULU opened at $247.18 on Wednesday. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $226.01 and a fifty-two week high of $516.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $264.35 and a 200-day moving average of $328.43. The stock has a market cap of $30.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Lululemon Athletica announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.