Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Cut to “Equal Weight” at Barclays

Barclays cut shares of Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. Barclays currently has $434.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock, down from their previous price target of $612.00.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on ULTA. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $580.00 to $520.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $485.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $548.05.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 0.9 %

ULTA opened at $410.04 on Monday. Ulta Beauty has a 12-month low of $368.02 and a 12-month high of $574.76. The business has a 50 day moving average of $497.74 and a 200-day moving average of $469.61. The stock has a market cap of $19.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Ulta Beauty announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 14th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to purchase up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In other news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total transaction of $1,629,325.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,801.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total value of $263,130.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $876,222.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total value of $1,629,325.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,420,801.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ULTA. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 364.3% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 65 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 7,300.0% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 74 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Company Profile

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.