The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Short Interest Up 7.1% in December

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,590,000 shares, a growth of 7.1% from the December 15th total of 8,020,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,570,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $77.86 on Tuesday. Estée Lauder Companies has a 12-month low of $62.29 and a 12-month high of $159.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $73.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.95 billion, a PE ratio of 139.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.02.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Estée Lauder Companies will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 250.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 75,500 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $64.93 per share, for a total transaction of $4,902,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 310,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,128,300. This represents a 32.20 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total value of $743,259.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Estée Lauder Companies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Centre Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $8,585,000. Armistice Capital LLC boosted its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 111.8% in the 2nd quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 182,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,398,000 after buying an additional 96,239 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,392,000 after acquiring an additional 45,687 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 729.4% during the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 47,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,735,000 after acquiring an additional 41,773 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,600,000 after acquiring an additional 2,533,006 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on EL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus cut Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $125.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.55.

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, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.