Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

Research analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL – Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on EL. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $290.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Argus lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $290.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Finally, 22nd Century Group reiterated a “maintains” rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.21.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of EL stock opened at $197.07 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $234.85 and a 200-day moving average of $241.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Estée Lauder Companies has a 12-month low of $186.47 and a 12-month high of $284.45. The firm has a market cap of $70.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.47, a PEG ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 1.01.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.04). Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 23.99% and a net margin of 6.88%. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Estée Lauder Companies will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, insider Hudis Jane Hertzmark sold 9,869 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.95, for a total value of $1,973,306.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,280,629.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 12.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $858,070,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $491,589,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,065,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,008,604,000 after acquiring an additional 1,322,495 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,009,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,739,070,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167,553 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 74.4% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,026,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $502,837,000 after acquiring an additional 864,628 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.74% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Company Profile

(Get Rating)

The Estée Lauder Companies, Inc engages in the manufacture of skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. It sells products under the following brand names: Estée Lauder, Clinique, Origins, MAC, Bobbi Brown, La Mer, Jo Malone London, Aveda and Too Faced. Its channels consist of department stores, multi-brand retailers, upscale perfumeries and pharmacies, and prestige salons and spas.