StockNews.com Downgrades Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) to Sell

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $544.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $375.00 to $345.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. B. Riley initiated coverage on Ulta Beauty in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “sell” rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $412.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $425.29.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 0.3 %

Ulta Beauty stock opened at $372.30 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $368.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $415.84. The stock has a market cap of $17.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.31. Ulta Beauty has a 52 week low of $318.17 and a 52 week high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.47 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 54.02% and a net margin of 10.68%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.02 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ulta Beauty will post 23.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total transaction of $39,008.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at $786,791.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $388.68, for a total transaction of $252,642.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,643,412.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total transaction of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $786,791.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 120.2% during the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 14,448 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,079,000 after acquiring an additional 7,887 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 92.8% in the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 7,278 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,806,000 after purchasing an additional 3,504 shares during the period. Broad Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth about $10,412,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 89,799 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $46,954,000 after purchasing an additional 8,337 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,778 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.