Allstate Corp Acquires 955 Shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Allstate Corp increased its stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. by 69.7% in the first quarter, owning a total of 2,326 shares valued at approximately $853,000.
• Ulta Beauty reported earnings per share (EPS) of $6.70 for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $5.73, alongside a revenue of $2.85 billion, which is a 4.5% year-over-year increase.
• Several hedge funds have raised their positions in Ulta Beauty, with institutional investors collectively owning 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Corp lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 69.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,326 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 955 shares during the period. Allstate Corp's holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 135.2% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 381 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 16,132 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $7,016,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 562,155 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $244,498,000 after acquiring an additional 72,004 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 626 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 72.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 80,067 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $34,823,000 after purchasing an additional 33,749 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 7.1%

ULTA traded down $37.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $493.11. 2,330,609 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 881,602. The company's fifty day moving average price is $498.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $425.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.12. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 52-week low of $309.01 and a 52-week high of $538.59.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $5.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.03 by $0.75. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 49.73% and a net margin of 10.45%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ULTA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $650.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $534.75.

Ulta Beauty Profile

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.