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

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,220,000 shares, a decrease of 8.1% from the November 15th total of 7,860,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,890,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on EL shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $131.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, B. Riley reduced their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.57.

Insider Activity

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $743,259.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at $20,045,982.88. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg acquired 77,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $64.01 per share, for a total transaction of $4,960,775.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 234,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,010,345. This trade represents a 49.36 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 12.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in 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 valued at $570,600,000 after buying an additional 2,533,006 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 3,065.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,983,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,920,439 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 80.8% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,934,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310,900 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 36.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,041,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Franchise Partners LLP increased its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 44.4% during the 2nd quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 3,466,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,320 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 1.2 %

Estée Lauder Companies stock opened at $80.04 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $78.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.42. Estée Lauder Companies has a twelve month low of $62.29 and a twelve month high of $159.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 142.93, a PEG ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The business’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.11 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Estée Lauder Companies will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 250.00%.

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.