Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on EL. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $180.00 to $130.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Raymond James downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a strong-buy rating to a market perform rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, B. Riley began coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a neutral rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $120.27.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

NYSE:EL opened at $85.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.76, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $118.15. Estée Lauder Companies has a 1 year low of $82.39 and a 1 year high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.39. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 16.91% and a net margin of 2.50%. The company had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.07 earnings per share. Estée Lauder Companies’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Estée Lauder Companies will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 148.31%.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value of $315,963.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at $4,578,114. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total transaction of $364,142.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value of $315,963.41. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,578,114. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EL. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 103.1% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. PARK CIRCLE Co purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

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.