Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Downgraded by Barclays to "Equal Weight"

Barclays lowered shares of Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $434.00 target price on the specialty retailer's stock, down from their prior target price of $612.00.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a hold rating and issued a $438.00 target price (down from $585.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, April 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $485.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an outperform rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $574.00 to $627.00 in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $548.05.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA traded up $3.65 on Monday, reaching $410.04. The company had a trading volume of 670,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 767,817. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $500.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $469.42. Ulta Beauty has a twelve month low of $368.02 and a twelve month high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.49 by $0.59. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 61.64%. Ulta Beauty's revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.68 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ulta Beauty will post 26.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In other Ulta Beauty news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total transaction of $11,027,870.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,494 shares in the company, valued at $5,523,936.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total value of $263,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $876,222.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total value of $11,027,870.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,523,936.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 24,552 shares of company stock worth $12,920,326. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Vima LLC bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ulta Beauty Company 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.