Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Trading Down 2.6% Following Weak Earnings

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)’s share price traded down 2.6% during trading on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $342.00 and last traded at $358.10. 2,249,840 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 150% from the average session volume of 900,702 shares. The stock had previously closed at $367.58.

The specialty retailer reported $5.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.47 by ($0.17). Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 58.06% and a net margin of 11.13%. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.02 EPS. Ulta Beauty’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ULTA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $552.00 to $448.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Ulta Beauty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $356.00 price target (down from $404.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Ulta Beauty from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Friday. One 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $436.83.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 2,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $786,791.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 value of $252,642.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,643,412.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total transaction of $39,008.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at $786,791.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ULTA. Nvwm LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 41.2% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Nkcfo LLC raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Nkcfo LLC now owns 183 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 32.5% during the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 102 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 6,284 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,286,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 4.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $16.84 billion, a PE ratio of 13.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $372.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $427.31.

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.