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

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-four analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have issued a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $460.30.

Several research firms have recently commented on ULTA. Bank of America upped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Loop Capital upped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. William Blair lowered Ulta Beauty from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $435.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Ulta Beauty stock opened at $418.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.28. Ulta Beauty has a fifty-two week low of $318.17 and a fifty-two week high of $574.76. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $402.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $384.03.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 10.58%. Ulta Beauty’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty will post 23.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the third quarter worth $32,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 118.4% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 83 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 151.5% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 83 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the third quarter worth $41,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the third quarter worth $44,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.