Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Given “Buy” Rating at DA Davidson

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by analysts at DA Davidson in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $81.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson’s target price points to a potential upside of 10.59% from the company’s current price.

EL has been the subject of a number of other reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. CICC Research initiated coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Friday, December 27th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

NYSE EL opened at $73.24 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $26.29 billion, a PE ratio of -37.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.62. Estée Lauder Companies has a 1-year low of $62.29 and a 1-year high of $159.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.30. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Estée Lauder Companies will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava purchased 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 2,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $156,645.99. This trade represents a 41.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 43,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.35 per share, for a total transaction of $2,853,050.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,583,580. The trade was a 11.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. 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, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.