Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) from a market perform rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. Raymond James Financial currently has $130.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on EL. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Estee Lauder Companies in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Estee Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Estee Lauder Companies from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Estee Lauder Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.19.

Estee Lauder Companies Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Estee Lauder Companies stock opened at $108.32 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.98, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.15. Estee Lauder Companies has a fifty-two week low of $48.37 and a fifty-two week high of $110.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $98.57 and a 200 day moving average of $92.69.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.17. Estee Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 14.92% and a negative net margin of 6.44%.The company had revenue of $3.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.14 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Estee Lauder Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900-2.100 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Estee Lauder Companies will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Estee Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Estee Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is -54.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Meridith Webster sold 5,430 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.84, for a total value of $476,971.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Barry S. Sternlicht sold 3,972 shares of Estee Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.83, for a total value of $364,748.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,196,785.96. This trade represents a 10.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 13.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Estee Lauder Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Argent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Estee Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $209,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Estee Lauder Companies by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031 shares in the last quarter. Cacti Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 115.3% in the fourth quarter. Cacti Asset Management LLC now owns 110,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,755,000 after purchasing an additional 59,000 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd raised its holdings in Estee Lauder Companies by 52.6% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 45,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,016,000 after purchasing an additional 15,707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,405,000. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Estee Lauder Companies Company Profile

Estée Lauder Companies Inc (NYSE: EL) is a global leader in prestige beauty that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. Founded in 1946 by Estée Lauder, the company has grown from a small family business into a multinational consumer-products enterprise headquartered in New York City. Its activities span product research and development, brand and product marketing, manufacturing and global distribution across multiple retail channels.

The company’s portfolio includes a mix of legacy and prestige brands that target different consumer segments and price points, with well-known names such as Estée Lauder, Clinique, MAC, La Mer and Jo Malone among others.