Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Hits New 12-Month High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $572.90 and last traded at $591.0440, with a volume of 39293 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $533.95.

The specialty retailer reported $5.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.61 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 48.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.14 EPS. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.200-25.500 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ULTA. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $595.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $647.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $557.79.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 128.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,225,023 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $449,021,000 after buying an additional 688,267 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 2nd quarter worth $258,791,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Ulta Beauty by 81.7% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 913,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $334,871,000 after purchasing an additional 410,900 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 64.8% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 931,557 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $341,453,000 after purchasing an additional 366,147 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 339.6% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 379,939 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $207,732,000 after buying an additional 293,516 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 10.5%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $531.45 and a 200-day moving average of $504.63. The stock has a market cap of $26.45 billion, a PE ratio of 22.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.87.

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.