Ulta Beauty (ULTA) Hits New 12-Month High After Earnings Beat

Shares of Ulta Beauty Inc (NASDAQ:ULTA) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $345.24 and last traded at $340.93, with a volume of 72609 shares. The stock had previously closed at $312.51.

The specialty retailer reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 33.75% and a net margin of 9.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.75 earnings per share.

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Several research firms recently issued reports on ULTA. Nomura boosted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $311.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $335.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Piper Jaffray Companies boosted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty to $318.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $306.25.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Securian Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc now owns 5,971 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 10,626 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,602,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Bremer Trust National Association raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Bremer Trust National Association now owns 1,033 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 1,727 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Telemus Capital LLC raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Telemus Capital LLC now owns 1,462 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.72% of the company’s stock.

The company has a market cap of $18.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.01.

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About Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Ulta Beauty, Inc operates as a beauty retailer in the United States. The company's stores offer cosmetics, fragrances, haircare and skincare products, bath and body products, and salon styling tools; salon services, including hair, skin, and brow services; and others, including nail products and accessories.

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