Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation and sixteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $576.50.

A number of research firms have commented on ULTA. B. Riley reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Monday, December 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $700.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $615.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, December 5th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 74,327 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,244,000 after acquiring an additional 9,614 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the first quarter valued at approximately $484,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 128.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,225,023 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $449,021,000 after buying an additional 688,267 shares during the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 15.4% during the first quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 2,551 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $935,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the period. Finally, Allstate Corp grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 69.7% in the 1st quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 2,326 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $853,000 after buying an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $597.88 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $26.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $539.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $518.06. Ulta Beauty has a 12-month low of $309.01 and a 12-month high of $611.90.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 46.33%. The company’s revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.14 EPS. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.200-25.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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.