Head-To-Head Analysis: Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) vs. DICK’S Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS)

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) and DICK’S Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) are both large-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Ulta Beauty and DICK’S Sporting Goods, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ulta Beauty	1	12	13	1	2.52
DICK’S Sporting Goods	0	10	11	0	2.52

Ulta Beauty currently has a consensus target price of $543.13, indicating a potential upside of 3.53%. DICK’S Sporting Goods has a consensus target price of $237.84, indicating a potential upside of 3.96%. Given DICK’S Sporting Goods’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe DICK’S Sporting Goods is more favorable than Ulta Beauty.

Risk & Volatility

Ulta Beauty has a beta of 1.06, meaning that its stock price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, DICK’S Sporting Goods has a beta of 1.02, meaning that its stock price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Ulta Beauty and DICK’S Sporting Goods’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ulta Beauty	10.31%	48.78%	19.55%
DICK’S Sporting Goods	8.52%	36.54%	11.01%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Ulta Beauty and DICK’S Sporting Goods”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ulta Beauty	$11.65 billion	2.02	$1.20 billion	$26.08	20.12
DICK’S Sporting Goods	$13.77 billion	1.33	$1.17 billion	$14.32	15.98

Ulta Beauty has higher earnings, but lower revenue than DICK’S Sporting Goods. DICK’S Sporting Goods is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ulta Beauty, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

90.4% of Ulta Beauty shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.8% of DICK’S Sporting Goods shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Ulta Beauty shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 32.5% of DICK’S Sporting Goods shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Ulta Beauty beats DICK’S Sporting Goods on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. It also offers beauty services, including hair, makeup, brow, and skin services at its stores. The company was formerly known as ULTA Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc. and changed its name to Ulta Beauty, Inc. in January 2017. Ulta Beauty, Inc. was incorporated in 1990 and is based in Bolingbrook, Illinois.

About DICK’S Sporting Goods

DICK’s Sporting Goods, Inc. engages in the retailing of an extensive assortment of authentic sports equipment, apparel, footwear, and accessories. It also offers its products both online and through mobile applications. The company was founded by Richard T. Stack in 1948 and is headquartered in Coraopolis, PA.