Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Trading Down 2.6% on Analyst Downgrade

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) shares traded down 2.6% during trading on Monday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $150.00 to $140.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Estée Lauder Companies traded as low as $129.29 and last traded at $129.55. 557,159 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 2,769,165 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.94.

EL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Bank of America raised Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $145.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $164.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.92.

Institutional Trading of Estée Lauder Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 8.3% during the first quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 34.1% during the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 295 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 16,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,440,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 3,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $525,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 25.6% during the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 402 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $46.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.76, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $145.20 and its 200-day moving average is $138.03.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 148.32%.

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.