Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Ulta Beauty has a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy", based on coverage from 27 analysts. The average 12-month price target is about $638.09.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $7.74 versus estimates of $6.89 and revenue of $3.16 billion versus expectations of $3.12 billion. Revenue also rose 11.1% year over year.
• Despite the upbeat earnings report, several analysts have trimmed price targets recently, while the stock was trading near $455, below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Institutional ownership remains high at 90.39%.

Shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-seven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation, nineteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $638.0909.

Several analysts recently commented on ULTA shares. Argus set a $550.00 price target on Ulta Beauty in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Ulta Beauty in a report on Monday, April 20th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $600.00 to $560.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ulta Beauty from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $750.00 to $631.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 383 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.84, for a total value of $182,246.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,143,919.36. The trade was a 13.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ulta Beauty

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 231.6% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,744 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,372,000 after acquiring an additional 2,615 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 48.9% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,574 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the second quarter valued at approximately $466,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,196,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.9% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 7,475 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,497,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 0.3%

NASDAQ ULTA opened at $455.11 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $19.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.88. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $486.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $569.58. Ulta Beauty has a twelve month low of $443.60 and a twelve month high of $714.97.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The specialty retailer reported $7.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.89 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.12 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 44.77%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.70 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.360-28.800 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty will post 28.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Ulta Beauty Company Profile

Ulta Beauty, Inc NASDAQ: ULTA is a U.S.-based specialty retailer and beauty services provider focused on cosmetics, fragrance, skin care, hair care, bath and body, and beauty tools. The company operates a dual-format business that combines brick-and-mortar retail stores with an e-commerce platform, offering a broad assortment of national, prestige and mass-market brands alongside its own private-label products. In many locations Ulta also provides full-service salon treatments, positioning the company as a one-stop destination for product discovery and in-store services.

The retailer's product mix spans color cosmetics, haircare and styling products, skin and body care, fragrance, and accessories, catering to a wide range of consumer preferences and price points.

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