Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $140.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $164.00. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 5.31% from the company’s previous close.

EL has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $169.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Estée Lauder Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.92.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $132.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $47.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.69, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.07. Estée Lauder Companies has a 52-week low of $102.22 and a 52-week high of $209.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $145.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.18.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.49. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 4.18%. The business had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Estée Lauder Companies will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 1,900.0% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 82.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 277 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 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.