Upcoming AWS Coverage on Pier 1 Imports Post-Earnings Results

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / December 8, 2016 / Active Wall St. announces its post-earnings coverage on ULTA Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc. (NASDAQ: ULTA). The Company reported its third quarter fiscal 2016 financial results on December 01, 2016. The cosmetics retailer topped analysts' expectations for earnings and sales. The Company also raised its FY16 guidance. Register with us now for your free membership at: http://www.activewallst.com/register/.

One of ULTA Salon's competitors within the Specialty Retail, Other space, Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE: PIR), will report its Q3 FY17 financial results after market close on Wednesday, December 14th, 2016, followed by a conference call at 4:00 p.m. CT that day. AWS will be initiating a research report on Pier 1 Imports in the coming days.

Today, AWS is promoting its earnings coverage on ULTA; touching on stock like PIR. Get our free coverage by signing up to:

http://www.activewallst.com/registration-3/?symbol=ULTA

http://www.activewallst.com/registration-3/?symbol=PIR

Earnings Reviewed

For the three months ended on October 29, 2016, ULTA's net sales increased 24.2% to $1.13 billion compared to net sales of $910.7 million in the year ago same period. The Company's sales numbers came in ahead of analysts' expectation of $1.11 billion in sales.

ULTA's Q3 2016 operating income surged 26.1% to $139.7 million, or 12.4% of net sales, compared to $110.8 million, or 12.2% of net sales, in Q3 2015. The company's net income climbed 23.2% to $87.6 million in Q3 2016 compared to $71.1 million in the prior year's same quarter. Income per diluted share soared 26.1% to $1.40 in the reported quarter compared to $1.11 in the corresponding year ago period. The company's earnings numbers topped Wall Street's expectations of $1.37 per share.

Segment Results

For Q3 2016, ULTA's comparable sales (sales for stores open at least 14 months and e-commerce sales) increased 16.7% compared to an increase of 12.8% in Q3 FY15. The 16.7% comparable sales increase was driven by 11.1% growth in transactions and 5.6% growth in average ticket during the reported quarter. For Q3 2016, ULTA's Retail comparable sales increased 14.3%, including salon comparable sales growth of 10.3%.

In Q3 2016, the Company's salon sales grew16.7% to $60.4 million compared to salon sales of $51.7 million in the year ago comparable quarter. ULTA registered a 59.1% surged in e-commerce sales to $73.6 million in Q3 2016, from $46.2 million in Q3 2015, representing 240 basis points of the total company's comparable sales increase of 16.7%.

Balance Sheet

At the end of Q3 2016, ULTA's Merchandise inventories totaled $1.14 billion compared to $884.4 million at the end of Q3 2015, representing an increase of $252.6 million. The company's average inventory per store increased 16.5% compared to the prior year's same quarter. The company attributed the increase in inventory to 89 net new stores; the scaling up of the Greenwood, Indiana; the opening of the Dallas, Texas distribution centers; investments in inventory to ensure high in-stock levels to support sales growth; and incremental inventory for new brands and in-store prestige brand boutiques. As of October 29th, 2016, ULTA had $243.1 million in cash and short-term investments.

Share Repurchase

For the first nine months of FY 2016, including the Accelerated Share Repurchase and activity under the 10b5-1 plan, ULTA repurchased 1,449,594 shares of its stock at a cost of $297 million at an average price of approximately $205. As of October 29, 2016, approximately $148 million remained available under the Company's $425 million share repurchase program announced in March 2016.

Store Update

ULTA's real estate activity in Q3 2016 included 42 new stores, one relocation and six remodels compared to 45 new stores, two relocations and two remodels in Q3 2015. The Company ended Q3 2016 with 949 stores and square footage of 10,012,142, representing a 10% increase in square footage compared to Q3 2015.

Outlook

For Q4 2016, ULTA is forecasting net sales in the range of $1.52 billion to $1.54 billion. Comparable sales for Q4 2016, including e-commerce sales, are expected to increase 12% to 14%. Income per diluted share for Q4 2016 is estimated to be in the range of $2.08 to $2.13.

ULTA also raised its previously announced FY16 guidance. The Company plans to achieve comparable sale growth of approximately 13% to 15%, including the impact of its e-commerce business. The company is projecting to increase total sales in the low twenties percentage range compared to previous guidance of high teens percentage. ULTA is also projecting to deliver FY16 earnings per share growth in the high twenties percentage range compared to previous guidance of mid-twenties percent growth.

Stock Performance

On Wednesday, the stock closed the trading session at $253.94, slightly down 0.11% from its previous closing price of $254.22. A total volume of 704.04 thousand shares have exchanged hands. ULTA Salon's stock price advanced 9.18% in the last month, 5.80% in the past six months, and 37.21% in the previous twelve months. Furthermore, on a year to date basis, the stock skyrocketed 37.26%. Shares of the company have a PE ratio of 42.55.

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SOURCE: Active Wall Street