Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation, thirteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $545.13.

A number of research firms have commented on ULTA. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $525.00 to $475.00 in a research report on Friday, May 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $570.00 to $571.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 25th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $540.00 to $495.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 25th.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA opened at $413.57 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $440.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $476.35. The company has a market cap of $20.36 billion, a PE ratio of 16.60, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.34. Ulta Beauty has a 52-week low of $373.80 and a 52-week high of $556.60.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 24th. The specialty retailer reported $6.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.85 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 63.51%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.70 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty will post 25.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Portside Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $385,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $646,000. Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,236,000. Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $960,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 185.6% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 3,422 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,610,000 after purchasing an additional 2,224 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.30% of the company’s stock.

About Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty, Inc operate specialty retail stores selling cosmetics, fragrance, haircare and skincare products, and related accessories and services in the United States. It offers broad assortment of branded and private label beauty products including cosmetics, fragrance, haircare, skincare, bath and body products, professional hair products, and salon styling tools; and salon services, including hair, skin, makeup, and brow services, as well as nail services.