Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Hits New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Ulta Beauty's stock price reached a new 52-week high of $557.41 during mid-day trading, reflecting significant market interest.
• Analysts have a generally positive outlook, with 14 Buy ratings and a raised price target from UBS Group to $680.00, indicating strong growth potential.
• Ulta Beauty reported a quarterly earnings per share of $5.78, surpassing estimates by $0.75, alongside a year-over-year revenue increase of 9.3%.

Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $557.41 and last traded at $557.23, with a volume of 253699 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $546.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ULTA. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $589.00 to $617.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $610.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $544.20.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $521.01 and a 200 day moving average of $453.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of the 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 transaction, the director directly owned 2,263 shares in the company, valued at $1,195,837.09. This represents a 18.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 1.8% during the second quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,165 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $545,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 17.7% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 153 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 3.0% during the second quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 834 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of 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 grew its holdings in shares of 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. 90.39% of the stock is currently 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.

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