Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $314.47, but opened at $342.20. Ulta Beauty shares last traded at $343.38, with a volume of 849,394 shares traded.

The specialty retailer reported $8.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.13 by $1.33. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 10.58%. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.08 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ULTA. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $470.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $400.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday. William Blair cut Ulta Beauty from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $364.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $441.83.

Institutional Trading of Ulta Beauty

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 121.4% during the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 118.4% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 83 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 151.5% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 83 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $386.49 and a 200 day moving average of $386.82. The firm has a market cap of $16.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.34.

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.