JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Stock

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) had its target price upped by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $472.00 to $480.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 12.11% from the company’s previous close.

ULTA has been the subject of a number of other reports. StockNews.com upgraded Ulta Beauty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 28th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $345.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $328.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $426.00 to $424.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $520.00 to $450.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $438.00.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of ULTA opened at $428.17 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $374.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $376.64. The stock has a market cap of $20.18 billion, a PE ratio of 17.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.32. Ulta Beauty has a 1-year low of $318.17 and a 1-year high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.69. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 54.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ulta Beauty will post 23.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ULTA. CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 107.9% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 867 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 95.2% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 205 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 2.5% during the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 6,833 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,637,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 6.9% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 9,135 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,525,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 35.9% in the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 537 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $207,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.