Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Raised to “Neutral” at B. Riley

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) was upgraded by stock analysts at B. Riley from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $430.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock, up from their previous price target of $330.00. B. Riley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 3.58% from the stock’s previous close.

ULTA has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $390.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Raymond James cut their target price on Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $440.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $385.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $472.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $458.78.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $415.14 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $400.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $383.64. The company has a market capitalization of $19.25 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.28. Ulta Beauty has a 1 year low of $318.17 and a 1 year high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.69. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 51.95%. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.07 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty will post 23.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Ulta Beauty

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ULTA. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Ulta Beauty by 16.6% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,392 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,065,000 after acquiring an additional 2,619 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 65.9% during the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 10,022 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,867,000 after purchasing an additional 3,982 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the second quarter valued at approximately $525,000. Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 1.7% in the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 4,328 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, First Foundation Advisors lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 45.9% during the second quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 162 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.