Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Upgraded at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ULTA. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $647.00 to $645.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 28th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, August 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $799.00 to $731.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $725.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $624.57.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of ULTA stock opened at $535.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $512.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $525.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.85. Ulta Beauty has a fifty-two week low of $443.60 and a fifty-two week high of $714.97.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $6.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.22 by $0.33. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.34% and a return on equity of 45.40%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.78 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.700-29.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty will post 28.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ulta Beauty

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 383 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.84, for a total transaction of $182,246.72. Following the sale, the director owned 2,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,143,919.36. The trade was a 13.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ULTA. Optimize Financial Inc grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 1,176 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $711,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 12.1% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 167 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL now owns 394 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 555 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 6,455 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,905,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ulta Beauty Company Profile

Ulta Beauty, Inc is a specialty beauty retailer operating under the Ulta Beauty brand. The company sells a broad selection of cosmetics, skincare, haircare, fragrance, bath and body products, and beauty tools across a range of price points. Its merchandise includes both established brands and private-label products, as well as prestige, mass-market and professional beauty offerings.

In addition to retail sales, Ulta Beauty provides services through salon locations within many of its stores, including hair, skin and brow services.