Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Rating Lowered to Equal Weight at Barclays

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Barclays from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $434.00 price objective on the specialty retailer’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $612.00. Barclays‘s target price points to a potential upside of 7.20% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on ULTA. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $485.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $656.00 to $635.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $574.00 to $627.00 in a report on Friday, March 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $548.05.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

ULTA opened at $404.84 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $495.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $469.79. The firm has a market cap of $19.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.30. Ulta Beauty has a 1 year low of $368.02 and a 1 year high of $574.76.

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

Ulta Beauty declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to purchase up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In related news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total value of $11,027,870.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,523,936.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total value of $11,027,870.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,523,936.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total value of $263,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at $876,222.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,552 shares of company stock worth $12,920,326. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ulta Beauty

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ULTA. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 23,891 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $9,543,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 15,756 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725 shares during the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 14,602 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RMR Wealth Builders increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 117.3% during the 3rd quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 2,108 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ulta Beauty

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.