Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Lowered to “Neutral” at Citigroup
Citigroup downgraded shares of Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Wednesday, Analyst Ratings Network reports. They currently have $320.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock, up from their previous price target of $290.00.
Several other brokerages have also issued reports on ULTA. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, November 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $260.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, November 30th. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $260.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, November 13th. Credit Suisse Group cut their target price on Ulta Beauty from $310.00 to $308.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 4th. Finally, TheStreet raised Ulta Beauty from a c rating to a b- rating in a research note on Thursday, December 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $280.15.
NASDAQ ULTA opened at $279.76 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.65, a P/E/G ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 1.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $283.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $244.83. Ulta Beauty has a one year low of $124.05 and a one year high of $310.49.
Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 2nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ulta Beauty will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.
In related news, Director Lorna Nagler sold 5,000 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.67, for a total value of $1,358,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,963 shares in the company, valued at $3,249,988.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert F. Diromualdo sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.15, for a total value of $7,348,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,344 shares in the company, valued at $1,726,519.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 86,371 shares of company stock valued at $23,159,150 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Gemmer Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 70.0% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 86.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Ulta Beauty
Ulta Beauty, Inc operates as a beauty retailer in the United States. The company’s stores offer cosmetics, fragrances, skincare and haircare products, bath and body products, and salon styling tools; professional hair products; salon services, including hair, skin, makeup, and brow services; and others, including nail products and accessories.
See Also: Example of operating income, EBIT and EBITDA
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