Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Shares Gap Up to $145.04

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $145.04, but opened at $152.28. Estée Lauder Companies shares last traded at $150.03, with a volume of 408,164 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on EL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $179.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.63.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $142.46 and its 200 day moving average is $138.30. The firm has a market cap of $55.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 117.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 1.07.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.19 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 9.78%. Estée Lauder Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 203.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EL. Money Concepts Capital Corp increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 0.7% in the first quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co. now owns 7,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,742,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Moreno Evelyn V increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 0.5% in the third quarter. Moreno Evelyn V now owns 16,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,384,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 16,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,440,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $749,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.