The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twenty-three research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $124.39.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Monday. Raymond James downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $180.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $129.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of EL traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $91.44. 8,446,525 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,055,529. Estée Lauder Companies has a fifty-two week low of $86.05 and a fifty-two week high of $165.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50-day moving average of $101.24 and a 200-day moving average of $126.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.99.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.80 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 13.08%. Estée Lauder Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.07 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Estée Lauder Companies will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Estée Lauder Companies's payout ratio is 148.31%.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, EVP Jane Lauder sold 14,976 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.26, for a total value of $1,815,989.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,389 shares in the company, valued at $6,958,990.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 12.77% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 24.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,051 shares of the company's stock worth $3,304,000 after acquiring an additional 6,102 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd now owns 40,163 shares of the company's stock worth $4,273,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. Ecofi Investissements SA purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $259,000. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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, nail polishes, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.