Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Upgraded to Hold at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $685.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 28th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Ulta Beauty from $730.00 to $700.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Ulta Beauty from $750.00 to $631.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $624.57.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of ULTA stock opened at $535.63 on Tuesday. Ulta Beauty has a fifty-two week low of $443.60 and a fifty-two week high of $714.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $512.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $525.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.52, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.85.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $6.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.22 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.34% and a return on equity of 45.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.78 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.700-29.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty will post 28.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.84, for a total transaction of $182,246.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,404 shares in the company, valued at $1,143,919.36. This trade represents a 13.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 231.6% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,744 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 2,615 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 48.9% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,758,000 after buying an additional 1,574 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty in the second quarter valued at about $466,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty in the second quarter valued at about $1,196,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 0.9% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 7,475 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,497,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty, Inc is a specialty beauty retailer operating under the Ulta Beauty brand. The company sells a broad selection of cosmetics, skincare, haircare, fragrance, bath and body products, and beauty tools across a range of price points. Its merchandise includes both established brands and private-label products, as well as prestige, mass-market and professional beauty offerings.

In addition to retail sales, Ulta Beauty provides services through salon locations within many of its stores, including hair, skin and brow services.