Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. Increases Position in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Key Points

• Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC has increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 33.2%, now owning a total of 2,005 shares valued at approximately $735,000.
• Ulta Beauty reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $6.70 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $5.73, with a 4.5% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• Current analysts' consensus rating for Ulta Beauty is "Hold," with a target price averaging around $469.09.

Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 33.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,005 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 500 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.'s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 45,161 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $19,648,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 7,118 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,871,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 466.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 34,592 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $15,045,000 after purchasing an additional 28,481 shares during the period. Finally, Greenland Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth approximately $267,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of ULTA opened at $516.19 on Thursday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $309.01 and a fifty-two week high of $523.68. The company has a market capitalization of $23.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $481.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $413.66.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The specialty retailer reported $6.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.73 by $0.97. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 49.73% and a net margin of 10.45%. The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.47 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ULTA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating and set a $510.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $500.00 target price (up previously from $450.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, May 30th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $550.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $315.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $469.09.

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.

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