StockNews.com Lowers Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on EL. Raymond James lowered shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a strong-buy rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $104.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $100.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a hold rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $120.64.

Estée Lauder Companies Price Performance

NYSE EL opened at $95.41 on Tuesday. Estée Lauder Companies has a 12 month low of $82.39 and a 12 month high of $159.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.21 billion, a PE ratio of 53.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.80 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 16.91% and a net margin of 2.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.07 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Estée Lauder Companies will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is 148.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total transaction of $315,963.41. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,578,114. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total transaction of $364,142.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value of $315,963.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,800 shares in the company, valued at $4,578,114. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EL. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 247,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,640,000 after acquiring an additional 36,604 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 47,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,732,000 after purchasing an additional 3,065 shares during the last quarter. Cacti Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $276,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 11,769.4% in the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 52,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,607,000 after buying an additional 52,256 shares during the period. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter worth approximately $388,000. Institutional investors 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.