Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) had its target price raised by Barclays from $327.00 to $485.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the specialty retailer's stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on ULTA. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $465.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $400.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $490.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $467.00 to $404.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $460.91.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

NASDAQ:ULTA traded down $2.56 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $473.11. The stock had a trading volume of 667,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,050,908. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.06. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $386.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $388.83. Ulta Beauty has a 1-year low of $309.01 and a 1-year high of $491.98.

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

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In related news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total value of $332,982.32. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,817,429.12. This represents a 10.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the first quarter valued at $15,211,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 41,184 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $15,096,000 after acquiring an additional 6,441 shares during the last quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 410 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 48.9% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,758,000 after buying an additional 1,574 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 231.6% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,744 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 2,615 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ulta Beauty

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.