Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Upgraded to Hold by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on ULTA. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $438.00 to $412.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $522.00 to $500.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $430.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $425.29.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of Ulta Beauty stock opened at $402.72 on Wednesday. Ulta Beauty has a fifty-two week low of $318.17 and a fifty-two week high of $574.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $368.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $410.00. The company has a market cap of $18.98 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.31.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.02 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Ulta Beauty will post 23.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Ulta Beauty

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 83.3% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 66 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 490.0% in 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 last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently 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.