Ulta Beauty Rises 6% After Q4 Results

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ: ULTA) is up more than six percent in after hours trading after the company announced its fourth quarter results.The firm reported a Q4 EPS of $1.09 versus the Street estimate of $1.07.Earnings per share were up nine percent from the year-ago period.Revenue arrived at $868.1 million versus the Street estimate of $856.38 million. Sales were up 14 percent year-over-year."Ulta Beauty achieved excellent top line growth in the fourth quarter," Mary Dillon, Chief Executive Officer of Ulta Beauty, said in a company release. "We delivered earnings growth consistent with our expectations and made significant progress with our key growth strategies."I am very proud of the team's accomplishments during 2013, including the completion of the most ambitious store opening program in our company's history; the addition of 25 significant new brands contributing to 7.9% annual comparable store sales growth; exciting growth in our loyalty program, now 13 million members strong; and rapid growth in Ulta.com, driven by major steps forward in our e-commerce platform and fulfillment capabilities."Ulta Beauty expects its Q1 EPS to be between $0.70 and $0.75 versus the Street estimate of $0.81.Sales are expected to be between $693 million and $704 million versus the Street estimate of $696.3 million.During the third quarter, Ulta Beauty missed earnings and dropped 15 percent.The stock has continued to tumble in 2014. At market close on Wednesday, March 12, Ulta Beauty was down more than four percent year-to-date.Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Louis Bedigian had no position in the equities mentioned in this report.