Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Stock Rating Upgraded by Citigroup

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) was upgraded by research analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $120.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup’s price target points to a potential upside of 20.49% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Estee Lauder Companies in a report on Thursday. Evercore boosted their target price on Estee Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Estee Lauder Companies in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial raised Estee Lauder Companies from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Estee Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.27.

Estee Lauder Companies Price Performance

NYSE:EL opened at $99.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $109.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.46. Estee Lauder Companies has a 52-week low of $48.37 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The firm has a market cap of $35.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -199.18, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.14.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.22 billion. Estee Lauder Companies had a negative net margin of 1.21% and a positive return on equity of 17.59%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. Estee Lauder Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.030-2.230 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Estee Lauder Companies will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Meridith Webster sold 5,430 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.84, for a total value of $476,971.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Barry S. Sternlicht sold 3,972 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.83, for a total transaction of $364,748.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 34,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,196,785.96. The trade was a 10.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 13.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Estee Lauder Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EL. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 556.8% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,554,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,570,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,473 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $337,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $331,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 539.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 229,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,245,000 after buying an additional 193,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waverton Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Estee Lauder Companies by 50.1% during the 2nd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 151,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,247,000 after buying an additional 50,625 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Estee Lauder Companies News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Estee Lauder Companies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results beat expectations (EPS $0.89 vs. $0.84) and management raised full‑year sales/earnings guidance, supported by stronger China sales and progress on the “Beauty Reimagined” turnaround — a core reason buyers are returning. Business Wire: Fiscal Q2 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Major brokers showed support: Citigroup upgraded EL to “buy” with a $120 PT and Bank of America reiterated a Buy with re‑rating potential, signaling conviction among some institutional analysts that fundamentals and margin upside remain attractive. Benzinga: Citigroup Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Company announced a quarterly dividend (record Feb 27; pay Mar 16), which supports income investors and can help stabilize shares amid the volatility.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts trimmed price targets but left constructive ratings: JPMorgan cut its PT to $121 while staying “overweight” and Wells Fargo lowered its PT to $105 with an “equal weight” call — suggesting cautious optimism but reduced upside assumptions. Benzinga: PT Changes
• Neutral Sentiment: Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed “market perform” with a $105 target, reflecting mixed analyst views on short‑term growth versus longer‑term restructuring benefits. Benzinga: Telsey Reaffirmation
• Negative Sentiment: Management warned tariffs will shave roughly $100M off full‑year profitability (mostly in H2), pressuring margins and prompting talk of potential pricing actions — a clear near‑term headwind. CNBC: Tariff Headwinds
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the beat, the company’s cautious guidance and restructuring costs led to a heavy sell‑off (shares fell sharply earlier on the outlook and restructuring impact), showing how sensitive EL is to near‑term profit expectations. Investopedia: What Dragged Shares Lower
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage and commentary questioning EL’s valuation and the pace of the turnaround have amplified volatility — several headlines ask whether to trim positions after the drop, keeping sentiment fragile in the near term. Forbes: Should You Cut Your Position?

About Estee Lauder Companies

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.