The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $100.90.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $131.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $105.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $180.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total value of $364,142.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value of $315,963.41. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at $4,578,114. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total transaction of $364,142.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,209 shares in the company, valued at $1,423,714.49. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of EL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,686,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,188,832,000 after buying an additional 1,250,555 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% during 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. Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% during the 2nd quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,466,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,320 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 4.6% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,163,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,612,000 after buying an additional 140,416 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 3,065.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,983,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,920,439 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of EL opened at $66.45 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Estée Lauder Companies has a 12 month low of $63.36 and a 12 month high of $159.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $89.53 and its 200-day moving average is $105.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.84 billion, a PE ratio of 118.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.05.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Estée Lauder Companies will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 471.43%.

Estée Lauder Companies Company Profile

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.