In the latest trading session, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) closed at $473.78, marking a -1.23% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.4% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.98%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.18%.
The beauty products retailer's stock has climbed by 1.64% in the past month, falling short of the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 4.14% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.97%.
The upcoming earnings release of Ulta Beauty will be of great interest to investors. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $4.87, marking a 8.11% fall compared to the same quarter of the previous year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $2.6 billion, reflecting a 1.7% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $23.39 per share and a revenue of $11.64 billion, indicating changes of -7.7% and +3.04%, respectively, from the former year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Ulta Beauty. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 0.65% fall in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Ulta Beauty is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Ulta Beauty is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 20.51. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 13.56 for its industry.
Investors should also note that ULTA has a PEG ratio of 2.91 right now. 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. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Retail - Miscellaneous industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.91.
The Retail - Miscellaneous industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 178, finds itself in the bottom 28% echelons of all 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.
Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.
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Ulta Beauty Inc. (ULTA): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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