JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Price Target to $61.00

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) had its target price lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $72.00 to $61.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on EL. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $76.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $77.00 to $67.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Estée Lauder Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.67.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of EL opened at $55.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s fifty day moving average is $66.37 and its 200-day moving average is $74.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. Estée Lauder Companies has a 12 month low of $48.37 and a 12 month high of $149.91.

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

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is -71.79%.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 700 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 43,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 430,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,583,580. This represents a 11.09 % 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.