The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-two research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $98.57.

EL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $125.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, October 31st. HSBC lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on 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, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $131.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 1.9 %

EL stock opened at $72.17 on Friday. Estée Lauder Companies has a fifty-two week low of $62.29 and a fifty-two week high of $159.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $81.43 and a 200-day moving average of $96.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $25.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 128.88, a PEG ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.05.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 1.31%. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Estée Lauder Companies will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 471.43%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,045,982.88. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 77,500 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $64.01 per share, for a total transaction of $4,960,775.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 234,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,010,345. This trade represents a 49.36 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,392,000 after purchasing an additional 45,687 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 25.3% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 28,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,863,000 after purchasing an additional 5,803 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the third quarter worth about $199,000. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the third quarter worth about $1,555,000. Finally, Bard Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the third quarter worth about $1,789,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.