Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Rating Increased 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 morning.

EL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Bernstein Bank raised their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $191.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a neutral rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America raised Estée Lauder Companies from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Seventeen 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $160.92.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of EL traded down $2.00 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $132.94. 3,791,987 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,776,756. Estée Lauder Companies has a 1 year low of $102.22 and a 1 year high of $209.64. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $145.88 and its 200-day moving average is $138.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.66 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 4.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. As a group, 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 148.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $518,975,000. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $291,171,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 68.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,720,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $537,850,000 after purchasing an additional 1,512,982 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,311,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $767,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carmignac Gestion lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 1,908.0% in the 4th quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 1,195,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136,201 shares in the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently 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.