Stifel Nicolaus Trims Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Target Price to $125.00

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) had its target price reduced by Stifel Nicolaus from $165.00 to $125.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on EL. Bank of America lowered Estée Lauder Companies from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $100.00 in a report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $175.00 to $135.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley cut Estée Lauder Companies from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and cut their target price for the stock from $164.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group upgraded Estée Lauder Companies to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a market perform rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Monday. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $124.39.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

NYSE EL opened at $91.44 on Tuesday. Estée Lauder Companies has a 1 year low of $86.05 and a 1 year high of $165.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $101.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.39. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.07 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Estée Lauder Companies will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently 148.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jane Lauder sold 14,976 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.26, for a total transaction of $1,815,989.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,958,990.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 12.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Estée Lauder Companies

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth $9,689,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 121.8% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 207.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 585 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $180,000. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 9,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,425 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.