Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, beauty retailer Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance (ULTA -2.59%) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Ulta and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Ulta facts

 

 

Headquarters (founded)

Bolingbrook, Ill. (1990)

Market Cap

$5.0 billion

Industry

Specialty stores

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$2.2 billion

Management

Chairman/Interim CEO Dennis Eck

CFO Scott Settersten

Return on Equity (average, past 3 years)

23.3%

Cash/Debt

$320.5 million/$0

Competitors

Macy's

Regis

Sephora

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 89% of the 385 members who have rated Ulta believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.

Just last month, one of those bulls, fellow Fool Thomas Engle (TMF1000), tapped the stock as a particularly attractive growth opportunity:

Why do I believe [Ulta] has a long-term future? Because I think they have a chance to create another very successful category killer for cosmetics and services. The services part is a significant component of their growth strategy and what will set them apart from Amazon and eventually build customer loyalty and product buying power. ...

[Ulta] will expand their smaller format store base in time to place them in markets they aren't in now. That 1200 store U.S target may get raised over time if they are successful in expanding the service part of their business. I believe [Ulta] is a category killer in the making. ...

They carry a number of products that are exclusive to their stores. A big part of their growth strategy is to pick up early on new beauty product trends and bring them to their stores, sometimes in exclusive deals. Investors may drop the ball if they think of [Ulta] as simply a cosmetic store.

Want to see how well (or not so well) the stocks in this series are performing? Follow the TrackPoisedTo CAPS account.