Beauty and health products retailer Ulta Beauty has been putting up some outstanding sales and profit numbers. And its stock hit a fresh all-time high at 422.43 on Jan. 4. The Relative Strength (RS) Rating for Ulta Beauty stock climbed into a new percentile Tuesday, with a rise from 78 to 82.
The new 82 RS Rating means that Ulta Beauty stock has outperformed 82% of all stocks over the past year. It's a significant upgrade because market research shows that the best stocks often have an 80 or higher RS Rating in the early stages of their biggest moves.
Ulta Beauty Stock Holding Up As Profits, Sales Soar
Ulta Beauty posted 140% year-over-year earnings growth last quarter, to $3.93 per share. The prior two quarter its EPS grew 454% and 519% as it rebounded from early Covid pandemic shutdowns. Sales grew 29% in its most recent quarter, to $1.996 billion. The two periods before that, sales grew 65% and 60%. The company plans to release its next quarterly results on March 10 after the market closes.
Ulta Beauty stock has an 87 IBD Composite Rating, of a best-possible 99. It has a C- Accumulation/Distribution Rating, indicating roughly equal buying and selling of its stock, not surprising in the current difficult market. Its 87 EPS Rating reflects those recent bullish profit numbers. Given the strength of its earnings growth, look for that number to go higher.
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Ulta Beauty is working on a consolidation with a 422.53 entry. See if the stock can clear the breakout price in volume at least 40% above average. Ulta Beauty stock slid 3.3% Tuesday afternoon, to 363.58 amid uncertainty over the Russia-Ukraine situation. It's mostly moved sideways in a narrow range since late August, a sign of strength in the current turbulent market.
Ulta Beauty stock earns the No. 1 rank among its peers in the Retail-Specialty industry group. Sally Beauty and Petco Health & Wellness are also among the group's top stocks.
As you try to find the best stocks to buy and watch, be sure to pay attention to relative price strength.
IBD's proprietary Relative Strength Rating tracks market leadership with a 1 (worst) to 99 (best) score. The score shows how a stock's price performance over the last 52 weeks stacks up against all the other stocks in our database.
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