Here's Why Ulta Beauty (ULTA) Gained But Lagged the Market Today

Company Performance - Ulta Beauty closed at $690.99, with a daily increase of +1.93%, underperforming the S&P 500's gain of 2.05% [1] - Over the past month, Ulta Beauty's shares increased by 3.11%, outperforming the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 1.28% and the S&P 500's decline of 1.49% [1] Upcoming Earnings - Analysts expect Ulta Beauty to report earnings of $7.93 per share, reflecting a year-over-year decline of 6.26% [2] - Revenue is anticipated to be $3.82 billion, representing a 9.62% increase from the prior-year quarter [2] Annual Estimates - For the annual period, earnings are projected at $25.56 per share and revenue at $12.37 billion, indicating increases of +0.87% and +9.52% respectively from the previous year [3] Analyst Revisions - Recent changes to analyst estimates for Ulta Beauty are seen as indicative of short-term business trends, with positive revisions suggesting an optimistic outlook [3][4] Zacks Rank - Ulta Beauty currently holds a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy), with an average annual return of +25% for stocks rated 1 since 1988 [5] - The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has increased by 0.46% over the past month [5] Valuation Metrics - Ulta Beauty has a Forward P/E ratio of 23.84, which is higher than the industry average of 21.75 [6] - The company has a PEG ratio of 3.16, compared to the industry average PEG ratio of 2.75 [6] Industry Context - The Retail - Miscellaneous industry, part of the Retail-Wholesale sector, has a Zacks Industry Rank of 82, placing it in the top 34% of over 250 industries [7] - Research indicates that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1 [7]