JPMorgan Chase & Co. Downgrades Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) to Neutral

JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $74.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $113.00.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on EL. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $125.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.18.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 3.4 %

NYSE EL traded down $2.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $66.58. The stock had a trading volume of 11,486,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,365,223. Estée Lauder Companies has a one year low of $63.36 and a one year high of $159.75. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.05. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 16.91% and a net margin of 2.50%. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. Estée Lauder Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Estée Lauder Companies will post 2.95 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. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 250.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total value of $364,142.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Lynn Forester sold 3,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.61, for a total transaction of $364,142.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,423,714.49. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky sold 3,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.93, for a total value 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 $4,578,114. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Estée Lauder Companies

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. PARK CIRCLE Co acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 3,262.5% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. 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.