Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Stock Rating Upgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) was upgraded by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a $423.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock, up from their previous price target of $384.00. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 10.59% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $510.00 to $415.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $405.00 to $365.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $538.00 to $526.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $445.00 to $327.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $427.61.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Shares of ULTA opened at $382.51 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $371.22 and a 200 day moving average of $386.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.31, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.34. Ulta Beauty has a one year low of $309.01 and a one year high of $474.12.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $8.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.13 by $1.33. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 51.95%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Ulta Beauty will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total transaction of $332,982.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,632 shares in the company, valued at $2,817,429.12. This represents a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 63.2% in the third quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 4,380 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,704,000 after purchasing an additional 1,696 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $812,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 913.9% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 730 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 45.7% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 1,594 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $620,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 0.8% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 31,587 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,291,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by 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.