Ulta Beauty (ULTA) ended the recent trading session at $549.07, demonstrating a -2.15% change from the preceding day's closing price. This move was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 2.71%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 1.9%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 3.56%.
The beauty products retailer's shares have seen an increase of 7.52% over the last month, surpassing the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 4.01% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.5%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Ulta Beauty in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is expected to report EPS of $4.45, down 13.42% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $2.7 billion, up 6.56% from the prior-year quarter.
Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $24.33 per share and revenue of $12.06 billion. These totals would mark changes of -3.99% and +6.76%, respectively, from last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Ulta Beauty should also be noted by investors. 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.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. 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, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.12% lower. As of now, Ulta Beauty holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note Ulta Beauty's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 23.06. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 15.15.
Also, we should mention that ULTA has a PEG ratio of 3.09. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. As the market closed yesterday, the Retail - Miscellaneous industry was having an average PEG ratio of 2.5.
The Retail - Miscellaneous industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 29, placing it within the top 12% 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.
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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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