Canaccord Genuity Group Cuts Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Price Target to $526.00

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at Canaccord Genuity Group from $538.00 to $526.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 47.14% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on ULTA. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $360.00 to $310.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $385.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. William Blair lowered Ulta Beauty from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Monday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $431.13.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

Ulta Beauty stock opened at $357.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $385.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $386.80. Ulta Beauty has a 1 year low of $309.01 and a 1 year high of $544.36.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at about $430,674,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty in the third quarter valued at approximately $359,480,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,432,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 10,336.7% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 459,110 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $199,681,000 after purchasing an additional 454,711 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 3,246.2% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 346,262 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $134,737,000 after purchasing an additional 335,914 shares in 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.