Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) had its price objective increased by UBS Group from $74.00 to $80.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on EL. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Hsbc Global Res cut Estée Lauder Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $131.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.64.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of EL opened at $78.03 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 139.33, a PEG ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Estée Lauder Companies has a one year low of $62.29 and a one year high of $159.75. The business has a fifty day moving average of $73.24 and a 200 day moving average of $85.89.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Estée Lauder Companies will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 250.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 77,500 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $64.01 per share, for a total transaction of $4,960,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 234,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,010,345. This trade represents a 49.36 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $743,259.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,045,982.88. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Estée Lauder Companies

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Ecofi Investissements SA bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by 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, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.