Short Interest in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Decreases By 13.6%

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,040,000 shares, a decline of 13.6% from the February 28th total of 2,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 998,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 4.4% of the company's shares are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

In other news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total transaction of $332,982.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,817,429.12. The trade was a 10.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ULTA. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 121.4% during the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in Ulta Beauty by 118.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 83 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 151.5% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 83 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 5.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA traded down $18.83 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $340.53. 703,873 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,045,604. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $369.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $385.77. Ulta Beauty has a twelve month low of $309.01 and a twelve month high of $460.00. The firm has a market cap of $15.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.64, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.16.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $8.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.13 by $1.33. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.47 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 10.58%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.08 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ulta Beauty will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ULTA. StockNews.com raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. B. Riley decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $430.00 to $330.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Loop Capital raised their price target on Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $400.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $510.00 to $415.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $427.61.

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.