Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Receives $427.61 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-five research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $427.61.

Several research firms have weighed in on ULTA. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $505.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Ulta Beauty from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $384.00 to $423.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Ulta Beauty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $445.00 to $327.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $415.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Wednesday.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of ULTA opened at $357.75 on Tuesday. Ulta Beauty has a twelve month low of $309.01 and a twelve month high of $460.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.32, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $357.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $382.41.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $8.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.13 by $1.33. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.47 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 10.58%. The company’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.08 EPS. Analysts predict that Ulta Beauty will post 23.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In other news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,817,429.12. This represents a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ULTA. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 199.5% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 4,646 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,021,000 after buying an additional 3,095 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,973 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,663,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 12,088 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,257,000 after buying an additional 1,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management bought a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth approximately $348,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.