Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on ULTA. Raymond James downgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $450.00 in a report on Friday, August 30th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $507.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $356.00 target price (down from $404.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $544.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $425.29.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $404.01 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $368.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $401.69. The company has a market cap of $19.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.31. Ulta Beauty has a 12 month low of $318.17 and a 12 month high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 54.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty will post 23.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of Ulta Beauty 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 2,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $786,791.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 191.2% during the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 198 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in Ulta Beauty during the second quarter valued at $8,759,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 90.9% in the second quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 168 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,055 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,500,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.