Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday.

EL has been the subject of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a neutral rating and a $145.00 price target for the company. Bernstein Bank raised their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays upped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a market perform rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $160.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $160.92.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of EL stock opened at $132.94 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $145.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.15. Estée Lauder Companies has a 12-month low of $102.22 and a 12-month high of $209.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $47.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.07.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Estée Lauder Companies will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 148.32%.

Institutional Trading of Estée Lauder Companies

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EL. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the first quarter worth $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 103.1% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 1,900.0% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 82.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.