Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $567.98 and last traded at $566.91, with a volume of 570586 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $556.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on ULTA shares. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $510.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $544.20.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 1.9%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $524.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $459.95. The stock has a market cap of $25.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.74, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.08.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $5.78 earnings per share 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 firm 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 business earned $5.30 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

In other news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $1,195,837.09. This represents a 18.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 107.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 54 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 142.9% during the 2nd quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 218.5% during the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 86 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 71.4% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 96 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. 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.