StockNews.com Upgrades Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) to Buy
Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA – Get Rating) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday.
A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on ULTA. Barclays boosted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $469.00 to $491.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 31st. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $465.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $400.00 to $475.00 in a research note on Friday, May 27th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 27th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Ulta Beauty from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $475.00 to $485.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $460.05.
Ulta Beauty Stock Performance
Shares of ULTA opened at $394.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $396.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $387.50. The company has a market cap of $20.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.45. Ulta Beauty has a 52-week low of $330.80 and a 52-week high of $438.63.
Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 26th. The specialty retailer reported $6.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.44 by $1.86. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 60.83%. The company had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Ulta Beauty will post 20.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Activity
In other news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 476 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.84, for a total value of $186,515.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,393 shares in the company, valued at $937,673.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Scott M. Settersten sold 32,532 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.63, for a total value of $13,879,127.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,988,605.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 476 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.84, for a total transaction of $186,515.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,393 shares in the company, valued at $937,673.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,207 shares of company stock worth $19,411,502. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ULTA. National Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 18.5% during the first quarter. National Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,050 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,216,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Girard Partners LTD. raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Girard Partners LTD. now owns 12,729 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,248,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 19,060 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,859,000 after acquiring an additional 1,797 shares in the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 5,692 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,347,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 616 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. 89.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Ulta Beauty Company Profile
Ulta Beauty, Inc operates as a retailer of beauty products in the United States. The company’s stores offer cosmetics, fragrances, skincare and haircare products, bath and body products, and salon styling tools; professional hair products; salon services, including hair, skin, makeup, and brow services; and nail services.
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