Brokerages Set Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Target Price at $550.38

Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $550.3750.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Loop Capital reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Finally, Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, August 29th.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 0.5%

Ulta Beauty stock opened at $517.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $23.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.05. Ulta Beauty has a twelve month low of $309.01 and a twelve month high of $572.23. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $530.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $484.81.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $5.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.03 by $0.75. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 48.78% and a net margin of 10.31%.The business’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.30 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Ulta Beauty 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 transaction 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 343.6% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 173 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,333 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,290,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $318,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 167.1% during the 3rd quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 203 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Traynor Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% 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.