Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $548.05.

A number of brokerages have commented on ULTA. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $630.00 to $610.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $438.00 target price (down previously from $585.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $656.00 to $635.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 15th.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of ULTA stock opened at $410.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.66 billion, a PE ratio of 15.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $497.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $469.61. Ulta Beauty has a 12 month low of $368.02 and a 12 month high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.49 by $0.59. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 61.64%. Ulta Beauty’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.68 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ulta Beauty will post 26.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total value of $1,629,325.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,801.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total transaction of $263,130.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at $876,222.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total transaction of $1,629,325.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,801.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,552 shares of company stock worth $12,920,326. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Ulta Beauty by 9.2% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 17,894 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $9,357,000 after acquiring an additional 1,505 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 2.8% during the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,040 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 11.2% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 150,061 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $78,464,000 after purchasing an additional 15,107 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 55.9% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,280 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893 shares during the period. Finally, Trueblood Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the first quarter valued at approximately $203,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Company Profile

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.