Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-four brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $459.22.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $457.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $472.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $538.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $470.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of ULTA opened at $361.54 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $408.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $387.54. Ulta Beauty has a 52 week low of $318.17 and a 52 week high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.69. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 10.58%. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty will post 23.96 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,199,935 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $520,587,000 after buying an additional 11,205 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth approximately $430,674,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $359,480,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 655,561 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $285,123,000 after purchasing an additional 9,291 shares during the period. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 610,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $237,519,000 after purchasing an additional 31,540 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

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.