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

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the twenty-two brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $98.57.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $125.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut Estée Lauder Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. HSBC lowered Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 75,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $64.93 per share, with a total value of $4,902,215.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 310,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,128,300. The trade was a 32.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,045,982.88. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EL. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,144 shares of the company's stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 63.9% in the second quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 431 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 7.8% during the third quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 2,376 shares of the company's stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, Cove Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 7.1% during the third quarter. Cove Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,625 shares of the company's stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EL traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $75.08. The company had a trading volume of 1,162,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,591,076. Estée Lauder Companies has a twelve month low of $62.29 and a twelve month high of $159.75. The stock has a market cap of $26.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 134.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $75.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.11.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.11 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Estée Lauder Companies will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. Estée Lauder Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 250.00%.

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.