Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Stock Price Up 1.5% – Here’s What Happened

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) shares rose 1.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $384.61 and last traded at $378.48. Approximately 358,964 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 952,990 shares. The stock had previously closed at $372.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ULTA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Ulta Beauty from $552.00 to $448.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $525.00 to $485.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $520.00 to $450.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $522.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $425.08.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 2.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $18.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $368.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $398.98.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.47 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 54.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.02 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ulta Beauty

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ULTA. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 83.3% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 66 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 490.0% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 59 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Ulta Beauty during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.