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

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-three ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Nineteen 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 objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $93.68.

EL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup cut Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $131.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. CICC Research assumed 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 for the company. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Wednesday.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

NYSE EL opened at $82.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $29.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 147.46, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.02. Estée Lauder Companies has a 52-week low of $62.29 and a 52-week high of $159.75. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $75.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Estée Lauder Companies will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 250.00%.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 77,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 approximately $15,010,345. This trade represents a 49.36 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,045,982.88. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter worth about $32,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.