Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

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

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ULTA traded up $7.95 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $381.86. The stock had a trading volume of 311,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,059,940. Ulta Beauty has a twelve month low of $309.01 and a twelve month high of $528.80. The stock has a market cap of $17.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.26, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $371.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $386.33.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $8.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.13 by $1.33. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion during 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%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ULTA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $384.00 to $423.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $445.00 to $327.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Ulta Beauty from $360.00 to $310.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $364.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $427.61.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC grew its position 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 last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 period. Buckhead Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 15.6% during the 4th 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 bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at $348,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ulta Beauty

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.