Zacks Research Predicts Stronger Earnings for Ulta Beauty

Key Points

• Zacks Research has raised its FY2026 earnings per share estimate for Ulta Beauty from $23.04 to $23.97, indicating stronger earnings potential for the specialty retailer.
• Ulta Beauty reported $5.78 earnings per share for its latest quarter, surpassing the analysts' expectations of $5.03, and its revenue increased by 9.3% year-over-year to $2.79 billion.
• Multiple equities research firms have boosted their target prices for Ulta Beauty, with estimates ranging between $550 and $600 per share, indicating a positive outlook for the stock.

Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Zacks Research raised their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report issued on Thursday, September 18th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the specialty retailer will earn $23.97 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $23.04. The consensus estimate for Ulta Beauty's current full-year earnings is $23.96 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Ulta Beauty's Q2 2027 earnings at $6.10 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $7.70 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $26.50 EPS, Q2 2028 earnings at $6.99 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $30.60 EPS.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $2.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.30 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on ULTA. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $525.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $543.13.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of ULTA opened at $521.47 on Monday. Ulta Beauty has a 1-year low of $309.01 and a 1-year high of $539.00. The stock has a market cap of $23.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $514.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $444.44.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the second quarter worth about $275,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 22.0% during the second quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 39,422 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $18,442,000 after acquiring an additional 7,113 shares during the period. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the second quarter worth about $3,809,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the second quarter worth about $479,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 52.0% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 76 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In other news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 2,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,195,837.09. This represents a 18.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.39% 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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