Ulta Beauty’s (ULTA) Hold (C) Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Weiss Ratings reissued their hold (c) rating on shares of Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) in a research note published on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Argus raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $570.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $584.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.38.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 1.3%

Ulta Beauty stock opened at $517.66 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $531.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $477.34. Ulta Beauty has a 1-year low of $309.01 and a 1-year high of $572.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.08.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $5.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.03 by $0.75. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 48.78%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.30 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty will post 23.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,195,837.09. The trade was a 18.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,092 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,190,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 2nd quarter worth $395,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 1st quarter worth $201,000. Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 2nd quarter worth $306,000. Finally, J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 167.8% in the 2nd quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 4,513 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,111,000 after purchasing an additional 2,828 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Company Profile

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.