Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Price Target Raised to $79.00

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) had its price target boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $74.00 to $79.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on EL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.55.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 0.3 %

EL stock opened at $77.86 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $27.95 billion, a PE ratio of 139.04, a P/E/G ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.02. Estée Lauder Companies has a 12 month low of $62.29 and a 12 month high of $159.75. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.64.

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

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. 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 payout ratio is 250.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 75,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $64.93 per share, for a total transaction of $4,902,215.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 310,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,128,300. The trade was a 32.20 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $743,259.44. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EL. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ecofi Investissements SA acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

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.