The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $101.7826.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EL. UBS Group raised their price objective on Estee Lauder Companies from $105.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Argus raised shares of Estee Lauder Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $116.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Estee Lauder Companies in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Estee Lauder Companies from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th.

Insider Activity

In other Estee Lauder Companies news, Director Barry S. Sternlicht sold 3,972 shares of Estee Lauder Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.83, for a total value of $364,748.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 34,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,196,785.96. The trade was a 10.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Meridith Webster sold 5,430 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.84, for a total value of $476,971.20. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 13.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Estee Lauder Companies

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EL. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 258.7% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 391 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estee Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Estee Lauder Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Estee Lauder Companies by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Estee Lauder Companies by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estee Lauder Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Estee Lauder Companies stock opened at $114.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $41.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.15. Estee Lauder Companies has a twelve month low of $48.37 and a twelve month high of $120.27. The company’s fifty day moving average is $106.40 and its 200 day moving average is $96.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.17. Estee Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 14.92% and a negative net margin of 6.44%.The business had revenue of $3.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.14 EPS. Estee Lauder Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Estee Lauder Companies will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Estee Lauder Companies Company Profile

Estée Lauder Companies Inc (NYSE: EL) is a global leader in prestige beauty that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. Founded in 1946 by Estée Lauder, the company has grown from a small family business into a multinational consumer-products enterprise headquartered in New York City. Its activities span product research and development, brand and product marketing, manufacturing and global distribution across multiple retail channels.

The company’s portfolio includes a mix of legacy and prestige brands that target different consumer segments and price points, with well-known names such as Estée Lauder, Clinique, MAC, La Mer and Jo Malone among others.