Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Sets New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Ulta Beauty reached a new 52-week high after Argus upgraded its stock from a hold to a buy rating, setting a price target of $570.00.
• Multiple research firms have raised their price targets for Ulta Beauty, with DA Davidson setting a new target of $625.00 and UBS Group now at $680.00.
• Ulta Beauty reported strong quarterly earnings, with $5.78 earnings per share, surpassing analysts' expectations and marking a 9.3% year-over-year revenue increase.

Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after Argus upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. Argus now has a $570.00 price target on the stock. Ulta Beauty traded as high as $540.00 and last traded at $536.65, with a volume of 39833 shares. The stock had previously closed at $535.61.

ULTA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $510.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $584.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, August 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $544.20.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In other 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 transaction, the director owned 2,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,195,837.09. The trade was a 18.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ULTA. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 17.9% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,092 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,190,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,179 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the first quarter worth $201,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 128.9% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 737 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the first quarter worth $250,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 0.7%

The stock has a market cap of $24.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.06. The firm's fifty day moving average is $516.84 and its 200 day moving average is $446.74.

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

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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