Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning.

ULTA has been the subject of several other research reports. Piper Sandler reiterated a neutral rating and set a $356.00 target price (down previously from $404.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $520.00 to $450.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $522.00 to $500.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $412.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $544.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $425.29.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of ULTA stock opened at $402.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.31. Ulta Beauty has a one year low of $318.17 and a one year high of $574.76. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $368.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $407.97.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.47 by ($0.17). Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 54.02% and a net margin of 10.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.02 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty will post 23.21 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total value of $39,008.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $786,791.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.68, for a total transaction of $252,642.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,643,412.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total value of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $786,791.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ULTA. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 83.3% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 66 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 490.0% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 59 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the first quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

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.