Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $576.50.

ULTA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Ulta Beauty from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Cowen upgraded Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $647.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Argus upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $570.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, December 5th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 107.7% in the second quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 54 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 142.9% in the second quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

NASDAQ ULTA opened at $607.52 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $546.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $523.04. The firm has a market cap of $26.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.29, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.87. Ulta Beauty has a 1 year low of $309.01 and a 1 year high of $616.34.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.14 earnings per share. 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Ulta Beauty

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.