VELA Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

VELA Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,035 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,181,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ULTA. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 83.3% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 66 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Paladin Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of Ulta Beauty stock traded up $8.67 on Friday, hitting $377.65. 672,387 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,094,967. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $376.32 and its 200 day moving average is $381.69. The stock has a market cap of $17.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.15, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.33. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 52-week low of $318.17 and a 52-week high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported $5.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.47 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for 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%. Ulta Beauty’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.07 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $435.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $385.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $507.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $550.00 to $505.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $420.71.

Ulta Beauty 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.