Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Stock

Key Points

• Citigroup raised its Ulta Beauty price target to $685 from $580 but kept a neutral rating; the new target implies about 6.1% upside from the stock’s current price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: MarketBeat reports a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $635.87.
• Ulta beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $6.55 and revenue of $3.04 billion; revenue rose 8.9% year over year.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at Citigroup from $580.00 to $685.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the specialty retailer's stock. Citigroup's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 6.11% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $648.00 to $667.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ulta Beauty from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $450.00 to $525.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Ulta Beauty in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $635.87.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:ULTA traded down $4.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $645.57. 232,836 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 654,407. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $573.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $553.92. Ulta Beauty has a 52 week low of $443.60 and a 52 week high of $714.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.83.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $6.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.22 by $0.33. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 45.40% and a net margin of 9.34%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.78 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.700-29.000 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Ulta Beauty will post 28.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In other Ulta Beauty news, CEO Kecia Steelman sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $545.88, for a total value of $1,091,760.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,489 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,102,135.32. This trade represents a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lorna Nagler sold 600 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $537.31, for a total value of $322,386.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,851,438.08. This trade represents a 7.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ulta Beauty

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ULTA. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 512,509.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,464,000 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,530,443,000 after acquiring an additional 6,462,739 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the second quarter worth approximately $1,815,712,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,024,623 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $913,064,000 after purchasing an additional 22,036 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 2.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 598,104 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $312,635,000 after purchasing an additional 11,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 14.3% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 544,686 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $245,642,000 after purchasing an additional 68,205 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty, Inc is a specialty beauty retailer that offers cosmetics, skincare, haircare, fragrance, bath and body products, beauty tools, and related accessories. Its assortment includes national and emerging brands, prestige and mass-market products, and Ulta Beauty's private-label merchandise. The company also provides salon services, including hair styling, haircuts, coloring, and treatments, along with brow and skin services in many of its locations.

Founded in 1990 as Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, the company operates primarily in the United States through a network of retail stores and digital channels, including its website and mobile application.

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