Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Receives "Hold" Rating from Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a $438.00 price target on the specialty retailer's stock, down from their prior price target of $585.00.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on ULTA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $535.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an underweight 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 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $583.00 to $612.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $561.29.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Ulta Beauty stock traded down $11.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $413.50. 1,072,795 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 772,886. Ulta Beauty has a 12-month low of $368.02 and a 12-month high of $574.76. The stock has a market cap of $19.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $514.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $467.55.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.68 EPS. Ulta Beauty's revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty will post 26.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 14th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to buy up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are 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 sale, the insider now 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. In related news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total transaction of $1,629,325.50. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $263,130.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $876,222.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,886,434 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,344,096,000 after purchasing an additional 40,190 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.4% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,828 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,090,149,000 after acquiring an additional 27,840 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,580,071 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $774,220,000 after acquiring an additional 6,094 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 56.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,538,533 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $614,568,000 after acquiring an additional 556,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.8% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,100,246 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $599,089,000 after acquiring an additional 19,467 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

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.