Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Rating Increased to Buy at Argus

Key Points

• Analysts at Argus have upgraded Ulta Beauty from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating, reflecting increased confidence in the stock's performance.
• Ulta Beauty reported $5.78 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates significantly and indicating strong revenue growth year-over-year.
• Institutional investors own 90.39% of Ulta Beauty's shares, demonstrating substantial interest and confidence from larger investment firms.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Argus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on ULTA. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $650.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, August 29th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $590.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $605.00 price objective (up from $580.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, August 29th. Loop Capital restated a "hold" rating and issued a $510.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $543.13.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

ULTA stock opened at $535.61 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $516.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $446.74. Ulta Beauty has a 52-week low of $309.01 and a 52-week high of $539.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.43, for a total value of $264,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,195,837.09. The trade was a 18.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ULTA. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 153 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 3.0% in the 2nd 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 increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 375 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,399,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

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.

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