Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $612.75 and last traded at $610.32, with a volume of 335536 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $597.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ULTA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler set a $615.00 price objective on Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $584.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 7th. Finally, 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. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $576.50.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 2.5%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $539.95 and a 200 day moving average of $518.43. The firm has a market cap of $27.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.87.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.61 by $0.53. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 46.33%. The company had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.200-25.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ULTA. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the second quarter worth approximately $258,791,000. Holocene Advisors LP raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 339.6% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 379,939 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $207,732,000 after purchasing an additional 293,516 shares during the last quarter. Andra AP fonden lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 351,900.0% during the 3rd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 228,800 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $125,096,000 after buying an additional 228,735 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 33.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 840,383 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $459,479,000 after buying an additional 211,485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 249.8% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 295,833 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $161,747,000 after buying an additional 211,266 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Company Profile

Ulta Beauty, Inc (NASDAQ: ULTA) is a U.S.-based specialty retailer and beauty services provider focused on cosmetics, fragrance, skin care, hair care, bath and body, and beauty tools. The company operates a dual-format business that combines brick-and-mortar retail stores with an e-commerce platform, offering a broad assortment of national, prestige and mass-market brands alongside its own private-label products. In many locations Ulta also provides full-service salon treatments, positioning the company as a one-stop destination for product discovery and in-store services.

The retailer’s product mix spans color cosmetics, haircare and styling products, skin and body care, fragrance, and accessories, catering to a wide range of consumer preferences and price points.