Illinois-based Ulta Beauty, Inc. (ULTA) is a leading beauty retail company valued at $17.9 billion by market cap. It offers over 25,000 products from over 500 brands across cosmetics, fragrance, skincare, hair care, and more. The company is set to announce its Q3 earnings for fiscal 2024 on Thursday, Dec. 5.
Ahead of the event, analysts expect Ulta Beauty to report a profit of $4.45 per share, down 12.2% from $5.07 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company has exceeded Wall Street’s EPS estimates in three of the last four quarters while missing on another occasion.
Looking ahead, analysts expect Ulta Beauty to report an EPS of $23.07 in fiscal 2025, down 11.4% from $26.03 in fiscal year 2024.
ULTA stock has plummeted marginally over the past 52 weeks, underperforming the broader S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 41.7% gains and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLY) 33.9% returns over the same time frame.
On Oct. 21, shares of Ulta Beauty rose more than 2% after JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) raised its price target on the stock to $472 from $450.
However, on Oct. 16, ULTA dropped more than 3% to lead losers in the S&P 500 after forecasting full-year net sales of $11 billion-$11.2 billion, the midpoint below the consensus of $11.17 billion.
The current consensus rating on Ulta Beauty stock is “Moderate Buy” overall. Among the 27 analysts covering the stock, 13 recommend a "Strong Buy," one gives it a “Moderate Buy,” 11 advise a "Hold," and the remaining two analysts indicate a "Strong Sell."
Furthermore, the average analyst price target for Ulta Beauty is $403.75, indicating a potential upside of 1.5% from the current price levels.
On the date of publication, Kritika Sarmah did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.