Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Ulta Beauty, with 24 buy ratings and eight holds among 32 analysts. The average 12-month price target is approximately $627.83.
• Ulta reported a quarterly earnings beat, posting $6.55 in EPS versus the $6.22 consensus and revenue of $3.04 billion, up 8.9% year over year. Management’s fiscal 2026 EPS guidance is $28.70–$29.00.
• Ulta shares opened at $557.86, up 3.1%, while institutional investors own 90.39% of the stock. Two insiders—the CEO and a director—recently sold shares, though insider ownership remains low at 0.20%.

Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-two research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty-four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $627.8261.

ULTA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $700.00 to $630.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, August 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $648.00 to $667.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $730.00 to $700.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In related news, Director Lorna Nagler sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $537.31, for a total value of $322,386.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,851,438.08. This represents a 7.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kecia Steelman sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.88, for a total value of $1,091,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,489 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,102,135.32. This represents a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,815,712,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,240,210 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $747,587,000 after purchasing an additional 21,947 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 974,223 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $589,415,000 after purchasing an additional 2,463 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth about $430,963,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 647,434 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $391,704,000 after buying an additional 21,341 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA opened at $557.86 on Tuesday. Ulta Beauty has a 12-month low of $443.60 and a 12-month high of $714.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $524.17 and a 200 day moving average of $518.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.85.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $6.55 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.78 EPS. Ulta Beauty's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.700-29.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ulta Beauty will post 28.94 EPS for the current year.

About Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty, Inc is a specialty beauty retailer operating under the Ulta Beauty brand. The company sells a broad selection of cosmetics, skincare, haircare, fragrance, bath and body products, and beauty tools across a range of price points. Its merchandise includes both established brands and private-label products, as well as prestige, mass-market and professional beauty offerings.

In addition to retail sales, Ulta Beauty provides services through salon locations within many of its stores, including hair, skin and brow services.

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