Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Price Target Raised to $71.00

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) had its target price boosted by Barclays from $63.00 to $71.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America cut 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 research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. B. Riley lowered their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.55.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EL opened at $77.86 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $73.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.50. The company has a market cap of $27.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 139.04, a PEG ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Estée Lauder Companies has a twelve month low of $62.29 and a twelve month high of $159.75.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted 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. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Estée Lauder Companies will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors 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 1.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 250.00%.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 77,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $64.01 per share, for a total transaction of $4,960,775.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 234,500 shares in the company, valued at $15,010,345. The trade was a 49.36 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 300 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ecofi Investissements SA bought a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors 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, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.