The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Receives $86.00 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-three brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $86.00.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. CICC Research assumed coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, December 27th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Centre Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $8,585,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,392,000 after purchasing an additional 45,687 shares in the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 3,524 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $570,600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,533,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 729.4% in the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 47,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,735,000 after purchasing an additional 41,773 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $66.64 on Monday. Estée Lauder Companies has a 1 year low of $62.29 and a 1 year high of $155.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $73.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.84. The company has a market capitalization of $23.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.17, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.08.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Estée Lauder Companies will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -71.79%.

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.