Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Price Target Cut to $300.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) had its target price lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $325.00 to $300.00 in a report issued on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an underweight rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on ULTA. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $438.00 to $412.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $522.00 to $500.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $412.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $565.00 to $475.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $380.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $436.83.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of ULTA opened at $352.84 on Friday. Ulta Beauty has a 52-week low of $318.17 and a 52-week high of $574.76. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $372.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $427.31. The company has a market capitalization of $16.84 billion, a PE ratio of 13.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.37.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 11.13% and a return on equity of 58.06%. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty will post 25.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In related news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $388.68, for a total transaction of $252,642.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,643,412.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.68, for a total transaction of $252,642.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,643,412.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total transaction of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $786,791.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ULTA. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 83.3% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 66 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Vima LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 490.0% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 59 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the first quarter worth about $31,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.