Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Key Points

• Ulta Beauty has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen amidst varying ratings from other analysts.
• The stock opened at $552.00 and has a market capitalization of $24.75 billion, with recent quarterly earnings significantly surpassing analysts' expectations.
• Institutional investors own 90.39% of Ulta Beauty's stock, indicating strong interest from major financial institutions.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

ULTA has been the topic of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $584.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $610.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Monday, September 8th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $650.00 target price on Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $544.20.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Ulta Beauty stock opened at $552.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $519.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $449.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.06. Ulta Beauty has a 52 week low of $309.01 and a 52 week high of $552.45.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $5.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.03 by $0.75. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.66 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 48.78% and a net margin of 10.31%.The business's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.30 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.43, for a total transaction of $264,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,195,837.09. This represents a 18.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,165 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $545,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 17.7% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 153 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 3.0% during the second quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 834 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 6.8% during the second quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 375 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 0.8% during the second quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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