Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Updates FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Friday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 26.200-27.000 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 26.800. The company issued revenue guidance of $11.7 billion-$11.8 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $11.8 billion.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $630.00 to $610.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays lowered Ulta Beauty from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $612.00 to $434.00 in a report on Monday. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an outperform rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $535.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $548.05.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $397.39. The stock had a trading volume of 591,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 763,636. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $489.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $468.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.36. Ulta Beauty has a 1-year low of $368.02 and a 1-year high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.49 by $0.59. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 61.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.68 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty will post 26.55 EPS for the current year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 14th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to purchase up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total value of $1,629,325.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total transaction of $1,629,325.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,420,801.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.