JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Stock Price

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) had its target price hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $475.00 to $477.00 in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ULTA. Truist Financial increased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $364.00 to $386.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Barclays dropped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $445.00 to $327.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $415.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $424.25.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA opened at $407.04 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $377.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $386.54. Ulta Beauty has a 1-year low of $309.01 and a 1-year high of $460.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.06.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $8.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.08 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Ulta Beauty will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total value of $332,982.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,632 shares in the company, valued at $2,817,429.12. This represents a 10.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 121.4% in the 4th quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 218.5% during the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 86 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.