Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Stock

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by analysts at Citigroup from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the specialty retailer's stock. Citigroup's price objective points to a potential downside of 4.88% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on ULTA. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $490.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 target price (up from $450.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $465.00 price target (up previously from $435.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $415.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $440.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $460.91.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA traded down $2.56 during trading on Friday, reaching $473.11. The company had a trading volume of 667,237 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,051,444. The business's 50-day moving average is $386.78 and its 200 day moving average is $388.83. The stock has a market cap of $21.36 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.06. Ulta Beauty has a 12-month low of $309.01 and a 12-month high of $491.98.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The specialty retailer reported $6.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.73 by $0.97. The company had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 51.95%. Ulta Beauty's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.47 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total transaction of $332,982.32. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,817,429.12. This trade represents a 10.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ulta Beauty

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 2,455 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,068,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth about $447,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 285 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 8,548 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,718,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 24,006 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $10,427,000 after purchasing an additional 2,423 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently 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.