Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

ULTA has been the subject of several other research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $650.00 price objective on Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $605.00 price target (up previously from $580.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research 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 given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.20.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

NASDAQ ULTA opened at $552.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $24.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $519.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $451.25. Ulta Beauty has a 1-year low of $309.01 and a 1-year high of $552.45.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $5.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.43, for a total transaction of $264,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ULTA. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 17.9% during 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 grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 14.8% in 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 acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter worth $201,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 128.9% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 737 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty in the first quarter valued at $250,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

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.