Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA – Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 477,070 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 26% from the previous session’s volume of 643,067 shares.The stock last traded at $517.82 and had previously closed at $523.55.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
ULTA has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, December 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $579.81.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Ulta Beauty
Ulta Beauty Stock Performance
The company has a 50 day moving average of $523.00 and a 200-day moving average of $459.71. The stock has a market cap of $25.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.31.
Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.49 by $0.59. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 61.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. 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 earned $6.68 EPS. Ulta Beauty’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.94 EPS for the current year.
Ulta Beauty declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 14th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total transaction of $11,027,870.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,523,936.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total transaction of $263,130.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $876,222.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total value of $11,027,870.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,523,936.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.30% of the company’s stock.
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.
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