Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on the stock from $140.00 to $131.00. The stock had previously closed at $146.71, but opened at $140.41. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a hold rating on the stock. Estée Lauder Companies shares last traded at $137.94, with a volume of 1,372,239 shares changing hands.

EL has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Estée Lauder Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $161.08.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 1,900.0% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 29.3% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 22,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,209,000 after acquiring an additional 5,025 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 40.3% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 16,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,402,000 after purchasing an additional 4,773 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter worth about $259,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 1,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 6.0 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $146.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.23. 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 company has a market cap of $48.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.07.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. 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.