Barclays Lowers Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Price Target to $64.00

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) had its price target lowered by Barclays from $71.00 to $64.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. B. Riley dropped their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 2.4 %

NYSE:EL opened at $64.34 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $23.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 114.89, a P/E/G ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.32. Estée Lauder Companies has a fifty-two week low of $62.29 and a fifty-two week high of $159.54. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.39.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. Analysts predict that Estée Lauder Companies will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 250.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 77,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $64.01 per share, with a total value of $4,960,775.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 234,500 shares in the company, valued at $15,010,345. The trade was a 49.36 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Estée Lauder Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Centre Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $8,585,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,392,000 after purchasing an additional 45,687 shares in the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $771,000 after acquiring an additional 3,524 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,600,000 after acquiring an additional 2,533,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 729.4% during the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 47,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,735,000 after acquiring an additional 41,773 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.