Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Cut to Hold at TD Cowen

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) was downgraded by stock analysts at TD Cowen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday, Briefing.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on ULTA. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $450.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $507.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $520.00 to $450.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Ulta Beauty from $525.00 to $485.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $425.29.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

ULTA stock opened at $402.01 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $368.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $406.98. The stock has a market cap of $19.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.31. Ulta Beauty has a one year low of $318.17 and a one year high of $574.76.

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

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In other news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $388.68, for a total value of $252,642.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,643,412.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,643,412.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ulta Beauty

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ULTA. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Ulta Beauty by 83.3% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 66 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Vima LLC bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 490.0% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 59 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

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.