Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Price Target Raised to $230.00

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) had its target price raised by Nomura from $215.00 to $230.00 in a report published on Friday morning, BenzingaRatingsTable reports. The brokerage currently has a reduce rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on ULTA. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $315.00 to $250.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. ValuEngine raised Ulta Beauty from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Atlantic Securities cut shares of Ulta Beauty from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $390.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $251.00 to $220.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a buy rating and a $288.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Ulta Beauty presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $286.57.

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $262.20 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $238.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $292.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Ulta Beauty has a one year low of $222.00 and a one year high of $368.83. The company has a market cap of $13.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.17, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.11.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The specialty retailer reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.67% and a return on equity of 36.81%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.18 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Ulta Beauty will post 11.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In related news, Director Charles Heilbronn purchased 115,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $236.41 per share, for a total transaction of $27,248,143.78. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 60,368 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,271,598.88. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mary N. Dillon purchased 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $237.17 per share, for a total transaction of $308,321.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 79,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,797,145.52. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 186,567 shares of company stock worth $44,964,903. Corporate insiders own 4.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Commonwealth Bank of Australia boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 79.2% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Bank of Australia now owns 86 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. San Francisco Sentry Investment Group CA grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 3,900.0% in the third quarter. San Francisco Sentry Investment Group CA now owns 120 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Next Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 206.7% during the second quarter. Next Capital Management LLC now owns 92 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NEXT Financial Group Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 42.0% during the second quarter. NEXT Financial Group Inc now owns 98 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. 86.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ulta Beauty Company Profile

Ulta Beauty, Inc operates as a beauty retailer in the United States. The company's stores offer cosmetics, fragrances, skincare and haircare products, bath and body products, and salon styling tools; salon services, including hair, skin, makeup, and brow services; and others, including nail products and accessories.

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