Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) PT Lowered to $475.00

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by investment analysts at Oppenheimer from $500.00 to $475.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the specialty retailer's stock. Oppenheimer's target price would suggest a potential upside of 20.66% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. 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. Raymond James cut their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $630.00 to $610.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Loop Capital raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $540.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $546.86.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA traded down $1.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $393.67. The stock had a trading volume of 788,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 765,582. Ulta Beauty has a twelve month low of $368.02 and a twelve month high of $574.76. The business's fifty day moving average is $479.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $470.48. The company has a market cap of $18.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.36.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.49 by $0.59. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 61.64%. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.68 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty will post 26.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total value of $263,130.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at $876,222.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 1,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at $876,222.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of Ulta Beauty 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,801.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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 Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 364.3% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 65 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Vima LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 7,300.0% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 74 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 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.