Beauty retailer ULTA tends to outperform in September
With students heading back to class and the first signs of fall just around the corner, investors might want to start looking at seasonality trends for September. Luckily, Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White has compiled a list of the 25 best performing stocks this month, going back 10 years. One name that stands out is cosmetics retailer Ulta Beauty Inc (NASDAQ:ULTA), which just came off an upbeat earnings report that launched the stock to a record high of $414.98.
The equity is up an impressive 67% in the last 12 months, though the $390 level has prevented ULTA from snagging any more intraday highs. The 10-day moving average has emerged as a leg of solid support, along with the $380 level. Ulta stock was last seen up 0.2% at $388.24, but based on its aforementioned seasonality, there's reason to believe the stock could snag even more records in the coming weeks.
According to White's data, over the past 10 years, ULTA has seen eight positive one-month returns, and averaged a 6.2% pop in this time period. That's good for second best one-month return on the list, following fellow retailer L Brands (LB), which averaged a 7.2% jump in September. A similar move, from ULTA's current perch, would put the stock at $412.31 -- just a chip shot away from last month's post-earnings peak.
The security has been the recipient of plenty of bullish attention from analysts during the past week. Just today, Piper Sandler noted an accelerating demand for skincare and services which should continue into the fall. Since its quarterly report, no less than 15 analysts lifted their price targets, though there still looks to be room for analyst upgrades. Of the 20 analysts covering ULTA, nine consider it a tepid "hold."