The Goldman Sachs Group Upgrades Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) to Buy

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has $423.00 price target on the specialty retailer's stock, up from their prior price target of $384.00.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on ULTA. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $360.00 to $310.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $470.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Ulta Beauty from $510.00 to $415.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ulta Beauty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $427.61.

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Ulta Beauty Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ ULTA traded up $8.60 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $382.51. The company had a trading volume of 797,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,063,608. Ulta Beauty has a 1 year low of $309.01 and a 1 year high of $474.12. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $371.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $386.30. The stock has a market cap of $17.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total transaction of $332,982.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,632 shares in the company, valued at $2,817,429.12. The trade was a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ULTA. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 199.5% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 4,646 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,021,000 after purchasing an additional 3,095 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,973 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,663,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 12,088 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $5,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth about $348,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

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.