Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $658.20 and last traded at $655.36, with a volume of 666367 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $650.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ULTA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer set a $675.00 target price on Ulta Beauty in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $690.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $700.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $587.04.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $563.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $531.68. The stock has a market cap of $29.07 billion, a PE ratio of 25.13, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.85.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.61 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 46.33%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.14 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.200-25.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 6,591 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,416,000 after purchasing an additional 889 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 36.6% in the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,887 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,058,000 after buying an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the first quarter valued at approximately $375,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 256.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,248 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,422,000 after acquiring an additional 14,563 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 8.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 474,914 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $174,075,000 after acquiring an additional 37,105 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

About Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty, Inc (NASDAQ: ULTA) is a U.S.-based specialty retailer and beauty services provider focused on cosmetics, fragrance, skin care, hair care, bath and body, and beauty tools. The company operates a dual-format business that combines brick-and-mortar retail stores with an e-commerce platform, offering a broad assortment of national, prestige and mass-market brands alongside its own private-label products. In many locations Ulta also provides full-service salon treatments, positioning the company as a one-stop destination for product discovery and in-store services.

The retailer’s product mix spans color cosmetics, haircare and styling products, skin and body care, fragrance, and accessories, catering to a wide range of consumer preferences and price points.