Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Coty Inc. (NYSE:COTY) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Friday morning.
According to Zacks, “Coty posted mixed fourth-quarter fiscal 2017 results, wherein earnings lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate, while revenues beat the same. While the acquisitions of ghd and Younique boosted the company’s revenues, operating income declined due to higher marketing spending and interest expense. The quarter also witnessed higher investments to support acquisition related momentum. Moreover, its Consumer Beauty segment has continued to remain sluggish. Increasing competitive pressures and changing consumer preferences have been hurting the company’s growth. It also remains exposed to unfavorable currency impacts. Owing to such factors, shares of the company have underperformed the industry over the past six months. Nevertheless, the company continuously evaluates strategic acquisitions and new brand licenses to enhance its portfolio and improve its performance.”
COTY has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays PLC set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Coty and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Saturday, May 13th. Jefferies Group LLC reaffirmed a hold rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (up previously from $17.00) on shares of Coty in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America Corporation decreased their price objective on shares of Coty from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Coty and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, August 21st. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of Coty in a research note on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $20.75.
Coty (COTY) traded up 0.99% during midday trading on Friday, hitting $16.40. The company had a trading volume of 10,229,679 shares. Coty has a 52-week low of $15.83 and a 52-week high of $27.98. The stock’s market cap is $12.28 billion. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $19.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.76.
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The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 30th. Coty’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -87.72%.
In other Coty news, Director Peter Harf purchased 26,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.00 per share, for a total transaction of $503,500.00. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Greerson Greene Mcmullen purchased 20,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.32 per share, for a total transaction of $390,264.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 99,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,922,475.24. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 83,400 shares of company stock worth $1,587,821 in the last 90 days. 16.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.
About Coty
Coty Inc is a beauty company. The Company operates through four segments: Fragrances, Color Cosmetics, Skin & Body Care and Brazil Acquisition. Its fragrance products include a range of men’s and women’s products. Its fragrance brands include Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Davidoff, Chloe, Balenciaga, Beyonce, Bottega Veneta, Miu Miu and Roberto Cavalli.
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