Loop Capital Upgrades Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) to Buy

Loop Capital upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. Loop Capital currently has $540.00 price target on the specialty retailer's stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on ULTA. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $587.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $485.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $575.45.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA traded up $8.03 during trading on Monday, reaching $452.78. The stock had a trading volume of 966,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 767,274. Ulta Beauty has a 52 week low of $368.02 and a 52 week high of $574.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $525.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $466.21.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.68 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty will post 26.81 EPS for the current year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 14th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to buy up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were 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 approximately $5,523,936.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were 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 approximately $5,523,936.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,552 shares of company stock worth $12,920,326. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ulta Beauty

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Vima LLC acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.