Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $626.44.

ULTA has been the topic of several research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $653.00 to $674.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research upgraded Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $700.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Wednesday, December 17th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 581,506 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $317,938,000 after purchasing an additional 36,456 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 1.6% in the third quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,889 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $73,204,000 after buying an additional 2,121 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,997,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 90.1% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 36,647 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $20,037,000 after acquiring an additional 17,365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stance Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 2nd quarter worth $3,809,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of ULTA stock opened at $690.37 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.85. Ulta Beauty has a 1 year low of $309.01 and a 1 year high of $695.34. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $627.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $561.11.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.61 by $0.53. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 46.33%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.200-25.500 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty, Inc (NASDAQ: ULTA) is a U.S.-based specialty retailer and beauty services provider focused on cosmetics, fragrance, skin care, hair care, bath and body, and beauty tools. The company operates a dual-format business that combines brick-and-mortar retail stores with an e-commerce platform, offering a broad assortment of national, prestige and mass-market brands alongside its own private-label products. In many locations Ulta also provides full-service salon treatments, positioning the company as a one-stop destination for product discovery and in-store services.

The retailer’s product mix spans color cosmetics, haircare and styling products, skin and body care, fragrance, and accessories, catering to a wide range of consumer preferences and price points.