Ulta Beauty (ULTA) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: Here's Why
In the latest market close, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) reached $526.59, with a -0.84% movement compared to the previous day. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.96%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.4%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 1.3%.
The beauty products retailer's shares have seen an increase of 11.56% over the last month, surpassing the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 4.23% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.69%.
The upcoming earnings release of Ulta Beauty will be of great interest to investors. On that day, Ulta Beauty is projected to report earnings of $7.49 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 12.13%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $3.51 billion, up 8.89% from the prior-year quarter.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Ulta Beauty. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.05% higher. Currently, Ulta Beauty is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note Ulta Beauty's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 19.54. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 12.73 for its industry.
One should further note that ULTA currently holds a PEG ratio of 2.19. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. ULTA's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.19 as of yesterday's close.
The Retail - Miscellaneous industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 60, placing it within the top 24% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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Ulta Beauty Inc. (ULTA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
