Ulta Beauty (ULTA) closed the most recent trading day at $483.52, moving -1.22% from the previous trading session. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 0.14%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.01%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.57%.
Shares of the beauty products retailer have appreciated by 6.56% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 0.45%, and the S&P 500's gain of 0.25%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Ulta Beauty in its upcoming release. On that day, Ulta Beauty is projected to report earnings of $6.16 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 6.57%. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $2.97 billion, indicating a 6.4% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $28.76 per share and revenue of $13.21 billion, indicating changes of +12.17% and +6.61%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Ulta Beauty. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional 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 past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. Ulta Beauty is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Ulta Beauty is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 17.02. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 14.46, so one might conclude that Ulta Beauty is trading at a premium comparatively.
Investors should also note that ULTA has a PEG ratio of 1.53 right now. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Retail - Miscellaneous was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.82 at yesterday's closing price.
The Retail - Miscellaneous industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 55, which puts it in the top 23% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
To follow ULTA in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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Ulta Beauty Inc. (ULTA): Free Stock Analysis Report
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