Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Given Neutral Rating at Citigroup

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Citigroup in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $425.00 price objective on the specialty retailer’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $365.00. Citigroup’s price target suggests a potential upside of 4.41% from the company’s previous close.

ULTA has been the subject of several other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $526.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. B. Riley decreased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $430.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $467.00 to $404.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Ulta Beauty from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $424.78.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of ULTA opened at $407.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.06. Ulta Beauty has a twelve month low of $309.01 and a twelve month high of $460.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $377.41 and a 200-day moving average of $386.48.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $8.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.13 by $1.33. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 51.95%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $8.08 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In other news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total transaction of $332,982.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,817,429.12. This trade represents a 10.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 25.4% during the first quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 410 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 48.9% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,574 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 231.6% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,744 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 2,615 shares during the period. Integrity Alliance LLC. bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the first quarter worth about $272,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

About Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty, Inc operates as a specialty beauty retailer in the United States. The company offers branded and private label beauty products, including cosmetics, fragrance, haircare, skincare, bath and body products, professional hair products, and salon styling tools through its Ulta Beauty stores, shop-in-shops, Ulta.com website, and its mobile applications.