The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Short Interest Update

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,640,000 shares, an increase of 44.6% from the May 31st total of 3,900,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,740,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EL. Citigroup raised shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $169.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $140.00 to $136.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Bernstein Bank increased their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.75.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of EL traded down $0.97 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $105.43. 1,124,762 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,802,756. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $126.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.18. Estée Lauder Companies has a twelve month low of $102.22 and a twelve month high of $198.86. The stock has a market cap of $37.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.49. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. Estée Lauder Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Estée Lauder Companies will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 148.32%.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, insider Peter Jueptner sold 12,786 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.62, for a total transaction of $1,670,107.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $728,598.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Peter Jueptner sold 12,786 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.62, for a total transaction of $1,670,107.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $728,598.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jane Lauder sold 14,976 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.26, for a total transaction of $1,815,989.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,958,990.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,255 shares of company stock valued at $5,453,232 in the last quarter. Insiders own 12.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cullen Investment Group LTD. grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 4.3% in the second quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 8,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $920,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 6.0% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 177,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,973,000 after purchasing an additional 10,070 shares during the period. Maxwell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the first quarter worth about $576,000. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 48.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 3,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 494.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 24,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,846,000 after purchasing an additional 20,750 shares during the period. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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, nail polishes, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.