Sally Beauty (NYSE:SBH) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SBH)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $9.18, but opened at $10.18. Sally Beauty shares last traded at $9.39, with a volume of 542,470 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on shares of Sally Beauty in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Sally Beauty from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Sally Beauty from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen upgraded Sally Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Sally Beauty from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.20.

Sally Beauty Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $988.64 million, a P/E ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 2.20.

Sally Beauty (NYSE:SBH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The specialty retailer reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43. Sally Beauty had a return on equity of 31.37% and a net margin of 4.13%. On average, analysts anticipate that Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Scott C. Sherman sold 13,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.49, for a total value of $195,615.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $614,825.19. This represents a 24.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Kim Mcintosh sold 4,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.53, for a total transaction of $62,479.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 16,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,433.05. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sally Beauty

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sally Beauty by 119.1% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,702 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 2,012 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Sally Beauty by 369.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,980 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 2,345 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Sally Beauty in the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Sally Beauty by 89.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,871 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 2,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Sally Beauty in the third quarter worth $64,000.

About Sally Beauty

Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc operates as a specialty retailer and distributor of professional beauty supplies. The company operates through two segments, Sally Beauty Supply and Beauty Systems Group. The Sally Beauty Supply segment offers beauty products, including hair color and care products, skin and nail care products, styling tools, and other beauty products for retail customers, salons, and salon professionals.