Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Stock Has Average Target Price of $627.83 According to Brokerages

Shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-two analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty-four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $631.30.

A number of brokerages recently commented on ULTA. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Ulta Beauty in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $580.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Ulta Beauty to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $450.00 to $525.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $685.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ulta Beauty news, CEO Kecia Steelman sold 2,000 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $545.88, for a total transaction of $1,091,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 40,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,102,135.32. The trade was a 4.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lorna Nagler sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $537.31, for a total transaction of $322,386.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,851,438.08. The trade was a 7.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ULTA. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $922,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Draper Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Draper Asset Management LLC now owns 12,234 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,682,000 after purchasing an additional 1,655 shares during the last quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 507 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,067 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $951,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 1.7%

NASDAQ:ULTA traded down $10.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $624.46. 543,002 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 428,899. The company’s 50 day moving average is $553.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $520.02. Ulta Beauty has a twelve month low of $443.60 and a twelve month high of $714.97. The company has a market capitalization of $26.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.84.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $6.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.22 by $0.33. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 45.40% and a net margin of 9.34%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.78 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.700-29.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ulta Beauty will post 28.95 EPS for the current year.

About Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty, Inc is a specialty beauty retailer that offers cosmetics, skincare, haircare, fragrance, bath and body products, beauty tools, and related accessories. Its assortment includes national and emerging brands, prestige and mass-market products, and Ulta Beauty’s private-label merchandise. The company also provides salon services, including hair styling, haircuts, coloring, and treatments, along with brow and skin services in many of its locations.

Founded in 1990 as Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, the company operates primarily in the United States through a network of retail stores and digital channels, including its website and mobile application.