Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SBH) Holdings Trimmed by Acuitas Investments LLC

Acuitas Investments LLC cut its holdings in shares of Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SBH - Free Report) by 39.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 286,575 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 189,461 shares during the period. Sally Beauty comprises about 2.5% of Acuitas Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Acuitas Investments LLC owned approximately 0.28% of Sally Beauty worth $2,995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Sally Beauty by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 545,850 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $5,704,000 after buying an additional 15,998 shares in the last quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. acquired a new position in Sally Beauty during the 4th quarter worth $9,413,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Sally Beauty by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 349,350 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,651,000 after purchasing an additional 16,950 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sally Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at about $553,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Sally Beauty by 105.5% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 12,536 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 6,436 shares during the last quarter.

Sally Beauty Stock Performance

NYSE:SBH traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $8.94. 2,773,088 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,459,176. Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.88 and a twelve month high of $14.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $10.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $910.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 1.55.

Sally Beauty (NYSE:SBH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The specialty retailer reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.43. Sally Beauty had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 30.35%. The company had revenue of $937.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $941.44 million. On average, analysts expect that Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. will post 1.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on SBH shares. Raymond James raised Sally Beauty from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Sally Beauty from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Sally Beauty from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Sally Beauty from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $14.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Sally Beauty from $13.00 to $10.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Scott C. Sherman sold 13,500 shares of Sally Beauty stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.49, for a total transaction of $195,615.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,431 shares in the company, valued at $614,825.19. The trade was a 24.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 shares were 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 $242,433.05. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sally Beauty Profile

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.