Simmons Bank Buys New Stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Simmons Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,490 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,747,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 83.3% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 66 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Paladin Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of ULTA opened at $382.74 on Thursday. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 12-month low of $318.17 and a 12-month high of $574.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $379.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $379.63.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.47 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.61 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 54.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.02 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ULTA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Ulta Beauty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 28th. Raymond James cut their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $440.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $390.00 to $380.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $420.71.

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.