The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Short Interest Up 7.1% in December

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,590,000 shares, a growth of 7.1% from the December 15th total of 8,020,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,570,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $743,259.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,045,982.88. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 75,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $64.93 per share, with a total value of $4,902,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 310,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,128,300. The trade was a 32.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,575,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,054,314,000 after acquiring an additional 913,470 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,600,000 after buying an additional 2,533,006 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,679,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,587,000 after acquiring an additional 70,307 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,041,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% in the second quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,466,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,788,000 after buying an additional 1,066,320 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Estée Lauder Companies stock traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $77.86. 2,948,283 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,646,628. Estée Lauder Companies has a 12-month low of $62.29 and a 12-month high of $159.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.95 billion, a PE ratio of 139.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business’s 50-day moving average is $73.76 and its 200-day moving average is $85.50.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Estée Lauder Companies will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 250.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EL. CICC Research began coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, December 27th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, B. Riley dropped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.55.

About Estée Lauder Companies

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc manufactures, markets, and sells skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products worldwide. It offers skin care products, including moisturizers, serums, cleansers, toners, body care, exfoliators, acne care and oil correctors, facial masks, and sun care products; and makeup products, such as lipsticks, lip glosses, mascaras, foundations, eyeshadows, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.