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

Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $603.24.

ULTA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $653.00 to $674.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Ulta Beauty from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $700.00 price target on Ulta Beauty in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $680.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

ULTA opened at $663.85 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $577.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $538.69. The firm has a market cap of $29.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.45, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.85. Ulta Beauty has a 1 year low of $309.01 and a 1 year high of $675.65.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.61 by $0.53. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 46.33% and a net margin of 9.93%.The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.14 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue 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 will post 23.96 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Ulta Beauty

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at $241,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 69.4% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 937 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 1,121 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Accurate Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 80.5% during the fourth quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,496 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $997,000 after buying an additional 667 shares during the period. Finally, Generate Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth about $2,435,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.