Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA – Get Free Report) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.53 by $0.55, Briefing.com reports. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 61.42% and a net margin of 11.37%. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.68 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Ulta Beauty updated its FY25 guidance to $26.20-27.00 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 26.200-27.000 EPS.
Ulta Beauty Stock Performance
ULTA opened at $565.44 on Friday. Ulta Beauty has a 1 year low of $368.02 and a 1 year high of $574.76. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $517.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $454.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.46 billion, a PE ratio of 22.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.31.
Ulta Beauty declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ulta Beauty
Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,886,434 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,344,096,000 after acquiring an additional 40,190 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,997,828 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,090,149,000 after purchasing an additional 27,840 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,580,071 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $774,220,000 after purchasing an additional 6,094 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 69.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,133,168 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $531,535,000 after buying an additional 465,616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,100,246 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $599,089,000 after acquiring an additional 19,467 shares during the last quarter. 92.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities analysts have commented on ULTA shares. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $440.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $550.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 1st. Argus lifted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $535.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Monday, November 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $535.35.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on ULTA
About Ulta Beauty
Ulta Beauty, Inc operate specialty retail stores selling cosmetics, fragrance, haircare and skincare products, and related accessories and services in the United States. It offers broad assortment of branded and private label beauty products including cosmetics, fragrance, haircare, skincare, bath and body products, professional hair products, and salon styling tools; and salon services, including hair, skin, makeup, and brow services, as well as nail services.
Further Reading
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