Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.83 EPS

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The specialty retailer reported $7.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.91 by $0.83, FiscalAI reports. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 9.31%.The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

NASDAQ ULTA traded down $5.84 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $494.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 936,154 shares, compared to its average volume of 675,259. The company has a market cap of $21.56 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $525.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $585.92. Ulta Beauty has a fifty-two week low of $452.00 and a fifty-two week high of $714.97.

More Ulta Beauty News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ulta Beauty this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Canaccord Genuity reiterated a Buy rating on Ulta Beauty and kept a $799 price target, citing confidence in the company’s growth and margin outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are looking for another solid quarter, with estimates calling for roughly $3.08 billion to $3.12 billion in revenue and about $6.87 to $6.89 in EPS, which has helped keep expectations constructive ahead of the report. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Ulta has also been highlighted as a potential winner in the ongoing debate between luxury vs. value beauty spending, with some investors seeing room for the company to benefit if consumers keep trading toward more accessible premium beauty products. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Ulta is scheduled to report first-quarter results on June 2, so trading may remain volatile until investors see whether sales trends, delivery expansion, and margin performance meet expectations. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Jim Cramer also pointed to a recent analyst price target cut on Ulta, a reminder that some Wall Street views have become more cautious heading into earnings. Article Title

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $539.29, for a total value of $243,759.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,285,128.07. This trade represents a 15.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 0.3% during 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. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 1.1% during the third quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,235 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,222,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 540 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 5.7% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VestGen Advisors LLC raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC now owns 789 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ULTA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $725.00 price objective (down from $775.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, March 13th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $674.00 to $799.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on Ulta Beauty in a research report on Monday, April 20th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $687.95.

About Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty, Inc (NASDAQ: ULTA) is a U.S.-based specialty retailer and beauty services provider focused on cosmetics, fragrance, skin care, hair care, bath and body, and beauty tools. The company operates a dual-format business that combines brick-and-mortar retail stores with an e-commerce platform, offering a broad assortment of national, prestige and mass-market brands alongside its own private-label products. In many locations Ulta also provides full-service salon treatments, positioning the company as a one-stop destination for product discovery and in-store services.

The retailer’s product mix spans color cosmetics, haircare and styling products, skin and body care, fragrance, and accessories, catering to a wide range of consumer preferences and price points.