Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Stock

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Free Report) had its target price boosted by Barclays from $63.00 to $71.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on EL. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup lowered Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.55.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of EL traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $77.86. The company had a trading volume of 2,948,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,646,628. The company has a market capitalization of $27.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 139.04, a P/E/G ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $73.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.64. Estée Lauder Companies has a 1-year low of $62.29 and a 1-year high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Estée Lauder Companies will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies's payout ratio is 250.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 77,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $64.01 per share, for a total transaction of $4,960,775.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 234,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,010,345. This trade represents a 49.36 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 12.78% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Estée Lauder Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EL. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% during 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 last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% during the 4th 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, Ecofi Investissements SA bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

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.