In the latest trading session, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) closed at $361.46, marking a +1.83% move from the previous day. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 1.81% for the day. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 1.56%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 2.06%.
Shares of the beauty products retailer have appreciated by 12.87% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 5.27% and the S&P 500's loss of 6.14%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Ulta Beauty in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to be unveiled on May 29, 2025. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $5.75, signifying a 11.13% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $2.79 billion, indicating a 2.21% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $23.05 per share and revenue of $11.58 billion. These totals would mark changes of -9.04% and +2.52%, respectively, from last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Ulta Beauty should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 2.43% lower. 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 15.4. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 12.91.
Also, we should mention that ULTA has a PEG ratio of 2.1. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. The Retail - Miscellaneous was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.38 at yesterday's closing price.
The Retail - Miscellaneous industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 158, positioning it in the bottom 37% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. 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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