Reviewing Estee Lauder Companies (EL) & Its Peers

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) is one of 55 public companies in the “Personal Care Products” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Estee Lauder Companies to related companies based on the strength of its risk, dividends, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability and institutional ownership.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

55.1% of Estee Lauder Companies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.6% of shares of all “Personal Care Products” companies are held by institutional investors. 11.5% of Estee Lauder Companies shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.7% of shares of all “Personal Care Products” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Estee Lauder Companies and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Estee Lauder Companies	2.41%	26.99%	5.42%
Estee Lauder Companies Competitors	-4.71%	-66.70%	-0.51%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Estee Lauder Companies and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Estee Lauder Companies	1	14	11	2	2.50
Estee Lauder Companies Competitors	904	2943	3662	229	2.42

Estee Lauder Companies presently has a consensus target price of $110.73, indicating a potential upside of 0.17%. As a group, “Personal Care Products” companies have a potential upside of 1.40%. Given Estee Lauder Companies’ peers higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Estee Lauder Companies has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Volatility and Risk

Estee Lauder Companies has a beta of 1.23, indicating that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Estee Lauder Companies’ peers have a beta of 0.80, indicating that their average stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Estee Lauder Companies and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Estee Lauder Companies	$15.05 billion	$182.00 million	110.54
Estee Lauder Companies Competitors	$8.28 billion	$1.11 billion	8.77

Estee Lauder Companies has higher revenue, but lower earnings than its peers. Estee Lauder Companies is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

Estee Lauder Companies pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Estee Lauder Companies pays out 140.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. As a group, “Personal Care Products” companies pay a dividend yield of 3.7% and pay out 47.4% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Estee Lauder Companies lags its peers as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Summary

Estee Lauder Companies beats its peers on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

About Estee Lauder Companies

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. is a global prestige beauty company founded in 1946 by Estée and Joseph Lauder. Based in New York City, it develops, markets and sells beauty products under a portfolio of brands, including Estée Lauder, Clinique, M·A·C, La Mer, Aveda and Jo Malone London. The company’s products span skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care. It reaches consumers through department stores, specialty retailers, its own stores and websites, and other online and travel-retail channels.