Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Receives $436.83 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation and thirteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $430.74.

Several brokerages have issued reports on ULTA. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $507.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $385.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $412.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

In other news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total value of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $786,791.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $786,791.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,643,412.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ulta Beauty

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ULTA. Brown Financial Advisors bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $268,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $124,000. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 757 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Aristides Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the second quarter valued at $386,000. Finally, Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the second quarter worth $538,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 0.3 %

ULTA opened at $359.92 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $370.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $421.77. Ulta Beauty has a 1-year low of $318.17 and a 1-year high of $574.76. The stock has a market cap of $16.96 billion, a PE ratio of 14.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.31.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.47 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 54.02%. Ulta Beauty’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.02 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty will post 23.03 earnings per share for the current year.

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.