Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) gapped up before the market opened on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $314.47, but opened at $342.20. Ulta Beauty shares last traded at $343.38, with a volume of 849,394 shares traded.

The specialty retailer reported $8.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.13 by $1.33. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 51.95%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.08 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. William Blair cut shares of Ulta Beauty from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $364.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Citigroup raised their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $457.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $538.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $505.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $441.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,199,935 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $520,587,000 after acquiring an additional 11,205 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $430,674,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the third quarter worth approximately $359,480,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 655,561 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $285,123,000 after buying an additional 9,291 shares during the period. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 610,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $237,519,000 after buying an additional 31,540 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 10.6 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $386.49 and a 200 day moving average of $386.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.74, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.34.

Ulta Beauty Company Profile

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.