Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) Reaches New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $60.23 and last traded at $60.25, with a volume of 2413628 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $68.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EL has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $76.00 target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.00.

Estée Lauder Companies Trading Down 9.1 %

The company has a market cap of $18.99 billion, a PE ratio of -27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $70.31 and its 200-day moving average is $76.43. 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 (NYSE:EL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s payout ratio is currently -71.79%.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $65.79 per share, for a total transaction of $46,053.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $156,645.99. The trade was a 41.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 43,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $2,853,050.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 430,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,583,580. This trade represents a 11.09 % increase in their position. 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

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 163.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,382,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,078,406,000 after acquiring an additional 8,930,011 shares during the period. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $554,509,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $251,304,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Estée Lauder Companies by 11,026.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,343,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,704,000 after purchasing an additional 3,313,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 148.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,481,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,984,000 after buying an additional 3,278,632 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.