Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Stock Rating Lowered by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report published on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $140.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $164.00.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on EL. DA Davidson reiterated a buy rating and issued a $191.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $169.00 to $145.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer restated a market perform rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $160.92.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:EL opened at $130.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $145.58 and its 200 day moving average is $138.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.65 billion, a PE ratio of 73.11, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.07. Estée Lauder Companies has a fifty-two week low of $102.22 and a fifty-two week high of $209.64.

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

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 148.32%.

Institutional Trading of Estée Lauder Companies

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 103.1% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 1,900.0% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 82.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 277 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 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, nail polishes, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.