The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-three analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $147.87.

EL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $175.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $163.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Bernstein Bank raised their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Estée Lauder Companies to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

NYSE EL opened at $97.07 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $110.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.47. The stock has a market cap of $34.81 billion, a PE ratio of 54.53, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. Estée Lauder Companies has a fifty-two week low of $95.81 and a fifty-two week high of $175.31.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.49. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 4.18%. The business had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. Estée Lauder Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Estée Lauder Companies will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, insider Peter Jueptner sold 12,786 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.62, for a total transaction of $1,670,107.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $728,598.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Peter Jueptner sold 12,786 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.62, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total transaction of $1,967,134.89. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 47,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,412,971.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,255 shares of company stock valued at $5,453,232 in the last 90 days. 12.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Estée Lauder Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 453,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,209,000 after acquiring an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 63.9% during the second quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 363.4% during the second quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 12,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 10,114 shares in the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 11.2% during the second quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 6,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mill Capital Management LLC grew its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mill Capital Management LLC now owns 76,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,162,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

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.