Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird in a research note issued to investors on Friday. They currently have a $295.00 price objective on the specialty retailer’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $335.00. Robert W. Baird’s price objective points to a potential upside of 38.92% from the company’s current price. The analysts noted that the move was a valuation call.
ULTA has been the subject of several other reports. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Tuesday, June 6th. Jefferies Group LLC raised Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $266.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Friday, June 2nd. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Ulta Beauty from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ulta Beauty from $300.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 31st. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on Ulta Beauty in a research report on Tuesday, June 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $294.72.
Shares of Ulta Beauty (ULTA) opened at 212.36 on Friday. Ulta Beauty has a one year low of $208.25 and a one year high of $314.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $249.47 and a 200-day moving average of $277.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.27 and a beta of 0.57. Ulta Beauty also saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 23,425 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 769% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,696 put options.
Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 24th. The specialty retailer reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 29.72% and a net margin of 8.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ulta Beauty will post $8.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Robert F. Diromualdo sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.05, for a total value of $6,181,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,717 shares in the company, valued at $1,457,788.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.36, for a total transaction of $156,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,288,797.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.
Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 3.3% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 26,495 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,558,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Boston Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the first quarter worth about $586,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the first quarter worth about $595,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 1.8% in the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 28,277 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,065,000 after buying an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 31.4% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 3,620 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,033,000 after buying an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.68% of the company’s stock.
About Ulta Beauty
Ulta Beauty, Inc is a holding company for the Ulta Beauty group of companies. The Company is a beauty retailer. The Company offers cosmetics, fragrance, skin, hair care products and salon services. The Company offers approximately 20,000 products from over 500 beauty brands across all categories, including the Company’s own private label.
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