The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,050,000 shares, an increase of 12.5% from the October 15th total of 4,490,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,830,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

EL traded up $1.35 during trading on Monday, reaching $65.10. 1,102,354 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,451,528. 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 12-month low of $62.29 and a 12-month high of $159.75. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.34. The company has a market cap of $23.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 113.84, a PEG ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 1.05.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Estée Lauder Companies will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 250.00%.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In related 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 value 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total transaction of $315,963.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,578,114. The trade was a 6.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,296 shares of company stock worth $1,423,366. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. PARK CIRCLE Co bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on EL. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective 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, November 1st. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.90.

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.