Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Stock Rating Lowered by Barclays

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) was downgraded by Barclays from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $434.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock, down from their previous price target of $612.00. Barclays‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 6.79% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $630.00 to $610.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $535.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $548.05.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of ULTA stock opened at $406.39 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $500.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $469.42. Ulta Beauty has a 1-year low of $368.02 and a 1-year high of $574.76. The firm has a market cap of $19.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.30.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.49 by $0.59. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 61.64%. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.68 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Ulta Beauty will post 26.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to buy up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

In other news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total value of $1,629,325.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Ulta Beauty news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total transaction of $11,027,870.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,523,936.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total transaction of $1,629,325.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,801.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,552 shares of company stock worth $12,920,326 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ULTA. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in Ulta Beauty by 364.3% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 65 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Vima LLC bought a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 7,300.0% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 74 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.